Crimson Persona
by Ulrich362
Summary: Fate has a strange way of working sometimes. When two different events occur that threaten the entire world, it's up to the signers and SEES to make sure we survive the end.
1. Chapter 1

Crimson Persona

By Ulrich362

(Author's Note: I do not own Yugioh 5ds, or the persona series, all rights go to their respective owners. Also some events will occur at different times due to the nature of this story.)

"Hey dad, do you think I can help out with the reactor when I get older?" asked a young boy with black hair and blue eyes.

"We'll have to see what your mother says Yusei, but as far as I'm concerned you can help out whenever you want." said a man in a lab coat. "Roman, how are those tests coming along?"

"Everything looks alright on my end professor Fudo, although the director is starting to lose patience with the constant delays." Roman said.

"I know, but we're literally on the verge of achieving great things." professor Fudo said. "Hey Yusei why don't you head over and see what Crow and Jack are doing, you three have been friends for a while now."

"Alright, it's been a while since I've dueled either of them."Yusei said. "Oh yeah, where did you put my card?"

"It's on the table by the door like always, I swear you have way too much energy sometimes." professor Fudo said calmly.

"He gets that from his mother." said another scientist. "Those kids are going to get to live in a new world, I envy them."

"We still get to enjoy it ourselves Rex, besides they deserve it." Roman said calmly. The whole world deserves what it's going to get, it's been destined for 5000 years after all, he thought.

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"I can't believe how long that party lasted, poor Minato looks worn out." said a young woman.

"Well what do you expect, 11:30 for guests to start leaving, it's ridiculous." said a man. "Well once we get to the bridge traffic should speed up and things should go back to normal."

"Dad, mom, can you guys be quiet please?" Minato asked. "I'm listening to my music."

"Oh, of course son, that song again?" his father asked.

"Yeah, it's my favorite." Minato said happily.

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"It's my move now Jack, so I'll tune Turret Warrior and Junk Synchron in order to synchro summon Stardust Dragon." Yusei said confidently.

"Not so fast Yusei, I play the trap card Urgent Tuning, so now Dark Resonator tunes with Vice Dragon in order to bring out my Red Dragon Archfiend." Jack said.

"Hold it you two, I have a trap card of my own, Surprise Assault, now I bring a monster from my graveyard back to the field, so say welcome back to Black-Winged Dragon." Crow said with a smirk.

Suddenly the power surged and the duel ended.

"Oh man, they must have turned the reactor off again."Yusei said. "Oh well, maybe next time we can finish our triangle duel."

"I would agree." Jack said. "After all I was about to win."

"I beg to differ, you had the least life points Jack." Crow said.

"That wouldn't have mattered, plus I had this facedown." Jack said revealing Crimson Fire. "This card would have blocked your attack and wiped out Yusei, and then my dragon out matches yours."

"That's enough, you three are all great duelists so just drop it." said an older man. "I shouldn't have ever agreed to let you duel whenever you wanted."

"Don't be like that dad, besides you love the game." Crow said with a grin.

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"Roman, what are you doing brother?" Rex asked nervously.

"Rex, you need to get as far away from here as possible, we heard what that man said." Roman said. "The day has come for the battle to resume."

"You can't possibly be serious, you're going to kill countless people just because of something some crazy fool told you?" Rex asked.

"Rex, I already bare the mark of one of the dark signers." Roman said. "I'm telling you to get the signers to safety, I've spoken to a friend of mine, he's willing to help them out, that's all I can do."

"Roman, I'm sorry for what happened brother." Rex said before running out of the room.

I'm sorry too Rex, but this is something neither of us could have stopped, Roman thought as he destroyed the controls for the ener-D reactor and initiated Zero Reverse.

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"What in the world, what's going on?" asked Minato's father. "It's nearly midnight people let's get moving."

Suddenly the moment the clock struck midnight, a strange creature flew out of the sky and landed on the bridge, causing an explosion that instantly killed Minato's parents.

"Target in sight, preparing to eliminate." said a robotic voice before a blonde girl appeared and started fighting the creature.

What's going on, who is that, Minato thought to himself.

"This is problematic, you are far too powerful for me to defeat." the girl said. "However there is another option."

With those words the girl fired a strange beam from her hands at the creature before slowly forcing it towards Minato.

"Wait, what's going on?" Minato asked nervously. "Who are you?"

"I'm sorry, but there is no other way to ensure the safety of the world." the girl said before the creature vanished and Minato fell unconscious.

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"Rex Goodwin, your brother called earlier today, are these the three boys you want me to keep an eye on?" asked an older man.

"Yes, I assume he mentioned that at some point there will be two more?" Rex asked.

"He did, I've also set up a place for your reactor." the man said.

"Thank you, I'm sure that you'll take care of them, the incident, there was nothing we could have done to stop it." Rex said quietly.

"I know, don't worry, I can assure you nothing like that will happen here." the man said.

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"It looks like all of the pieces are falling into place, now all I need to do is get in touch with that fool and then everything will be ready to begin." said a man in shadows. "All that's left to do is wait for my chance, things are going exactly as I expected."

(The ener-D reactor underwent Zero Reverse at the same instant the shadows were unleashed, and now the signers are on Tatsumi Port Island with a friend of Goodwin. Next chapter the signers and Minato will arrive at the dorm. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)


	2. Chapter 2

"Come on Yusei, don't you remember what he said?" Jack asked in annoyance.

"I remember Jack, I still can't believe he just died like that." Yusei said. "Still, it's weird they found a dorm for us to live in while we finish our years at Gekkoukan."

"I wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth Yusei, after all it was lucky enough they managed to get the extra rooms." said a female voice. "Although the fact that they're expecting us around midnight is strange."

"You worry to much Akiza, I'm sure it's just because that's when the other students will get back from some kind of start of the year event." Crow said. "Plus they're willing to let Leo and Luna come along so as far as I'm concerned it's a done deal."

"I hope so, it's almost time to head over there." Jack said. "Well, are you two packed up?"

"Yup, we're ready to go Jack." Leo said enthusiastically.

"In that case after you Akiza." Yusei said opening the door.

"Thanks Yusei." Akiza said calmly. (1)

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"Young man, young man can you please take off your headphones." said a train conductor.

"What, oh you need my ticket." Minato said calmly. "Here you go."

"Thank you very much sir, we should be arriving at Port Island Station shortly." the conductor said.

"Alright, thanks for letting me know." Minato said before putting his headphones back on.

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"Wait, isn't it supposed to be right here?" Jack asked. "Crow what did you say the address was again?"

"Hold on a second you guys, we can follow Kuribon." Luna said.

"Wait, how can Kuribon know where we're going?" Crow asked.

"I don't know, but I trust Luna." Leo said. "Lead the way sis."

"Alright, which way Kuribon?" Luna asked when suddenly the everything shut off, and the moon turned a ominous green.

"What the, what's going on?" Jack asked.

"I don't know, but can anyone else actually see Kuribon?"Akiza asked.

"Maybe it has something to do with what just happened."Yusei said. "Let's just get to the dorm and see if anyone knows about this."

"Yeah, this place is starting to creep me out." Crow said.

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"This is weird, it's as if the world just froze or something." Minato said to himself. "I wonder if anyone else noticed, I mean there are dozens of coffins in the middle of the street."

Suddenly a blue butterfly landed on Minato's arm.

"That's different, kind of cool but I should get going." Minato said to himself. "That must be it, oh I guess I'm not the only new transfer student, excuse me."

"Yes, are you looking for something?" Akiza asked.

"No, I think I found it." Minato said calmly. "Are you all moving into this dorm?"

"Yeah, it was a last minute decision though." Crow said. "What about you?"

"The same, actually do you know what's going on around here?" Minato asked.

"Not really, but the door is open, after you." Jack said.

"Thanks." Minato said. "Oh yeah, my name is Minato Arisato."

"Nice to meet you Minato, I'm Crow, this is Yusei, Jack, Akiza, Leo, and Luna." Crow said.

"Welcome to the dorm." said a young boy who suddenly appeared behind the counter. "All I need is for one of you to sign this contract."

"Alright, I'll take care of that." Minato said calmly.

"I see, and now everything begins." the boy said before vanishing into the shadows.

"What was that all about?" Jack asked.

"Didn't you see the boy at the desk?" Minato asked.

"No, you just walked up and signed a piece of paper." Leo said.

"Who's there?" someone asked suddenly.

At that point a girl appeared reaching for what looked to be a gun.

"Wait, don't shoot us." Leo said nervously.

"Takeba wait." said a redheaded girl just before the lights turned back on.

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"Alright, that explains it, you're the transfer students." the redheaded girl said. "My name is Mitsuru Kirijo, I'm your sempai and this is Yukari Takeba, to be honest we weren't expecting you this late."

"It's alright, we got a little lost." Yusei said.

"I understand, Yukari could you show the girls to their rooms?" Mitsuru asked. "I'll show the boys to their room."

"Alright, please follow me." Yukari said to Akiza and Luna.

"Thanks, see you boys tomorrow." Akiza said calmly.

"Night Akiza." Yusei said calmly.

"Well, now that that's settled I'll show the rest of you to your rooms." Mitsuru said calmly.

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"Oh, you must be the transfer students." said a white haired boy. "The name's Akihiko just let me know if there's anything I can help out with. Oh by the way I'm heading out for a little bit."

"Akihiko, this isn't a game." Mitsuru said calmly.

"I know, just thought I'd get a little practice in." Akihiko said before walking downstairs.

"What was that all about?" Jack asked.

"Akihiko is the captain of the boxing team, he occasionally goes for late night runs." Mitsuru said. "Well these are your rooms, classes begin tomorrow so I'll have Takeba show you where to go."

"Wait, what about me and Luna?" Leo asked.

"You don't start classes for a few more days, we'll help you find your way when then." Mitsuru said calmly.

"Alright, well good night sempai." Minato said before putting a pair of headphones on his head again.

"Good night." Yusei said calmly as everyone went into their own rooms.

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"What do you mean they aren't going to be here?" asked a hooded figure. "The whole point is to send them straight to the netherworld.

"I'm well aware of that, however until we manage to locate them we'll just have to be patient. I'm sure that the signers will arrive for our battles." said another hooded figure.

"Perhaps I can be of some assistance." said a man hidden in the shadows. "I can tell you exactly where to find the signers."

"Why should we believe you?" asked one of the hooded figures.

"Simple, because I have the means to bring you to them and am willing to do so at any time." the man said. "All I want is for you to help me and my associate with our goals, so do we have an agreement?"

"Very well, we'll meet at the old ener-D reactor tomorrow night." said a third hooded figure.

"Of course, I'll be expecting you." the man said before disappearing.

(The signers and Minato have arrived at the dorm, but mysterious dealings are being made back in New Domino City's Satellite sector. Next chapter classes will begin. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)

(1) (Akiza didn't acquire her psychic powers until she was older, and had already made friends with Yusei, Crow, and Jack. She's heard of the Arcadia Movement but chose not to join.)


	3. Chapter 3

"Sempai, are you sure about this?" Yukari asked. "I mean finding so many people who could be active is rare but still we don't even know if they're aware of it."

"That's true, but still if they have the potential we should keep our eyes open. If we're lucky, we'll be able to begin our true mission soon." Mitsuru said calmly.

"I guess, wait what's that?" Yukari asked suddenly. "Those six have some kind of marking on their arms."

"It seems we aren't the only ones who have something to explain." Mitsuru said calmly. "It doesn't look like anything is going to happen tonight so you should get some rest."

"Right, good night sempai." Yukari said.

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"Impressive, this is certainly an entertaining way to get to Gekkoukan high." Jack said.

"Yeah, it's one of my favorite parts of the day." Yukari said. "Though you do get used to it after a while."

"Well there's always that chance to see something you didn't expect." Yusei said. "Speaking of which there's something I've been meaning to ask you."

"I thought as much, we can discuss the matter once we get back to the dorm." Mitsuru said while walking up to them. "It would seem we've arrived."

"Well, I'll see you guys later." Crow said.

"Hold it bird brain, we don't even know what class we're in." Jack said. "We could be in the same class for all you know."

"Actually, I managed to get the classes for everyone but Minato." Mitsuru said calmly. "Yusei, Jack, and Crow are in 2-F, and Akiza is in 2-E."

"See, we are in the same class." Jack said smugly.

"Great, I get to be in the same room as Jack all year." Crow said sarcastically.

"What was that Crow?" Jack asked.

"Settle down you two, there's plenty of time to settle that after our classes." Yusei said calmly.

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"Hey Yuka-tan, wow how many people are you dragging into our class?" asked a boy with a hat and a goatee.

"Junpei, these four are transfer students." Yukari said irritably.

"Oh, well it's nice to meet you, I'm Junpei Iori." Junpei said with a grin.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Yusei, this is Jack, and Crow."Yusei said.

"Nice to meet you." Crow said.

"Oh, Minato are you in this class?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, what are the odds all four of us would end up in one class." Minato said.

"Alright, settle down." said an older woman. "My name is Isako Toriumi, and I'll be your home room teacher for the next year."

"It's nice to meet you." Yusei said politely.

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"Well, what do you guys think of Gekkokan?" Junpei asked.

"It's different, but that's not a bad thing." Yusei said.

"I agree, oh yeah Mitsuru sempai wanted us to head straight back to the dorm today." Minato said.

"You're right, thanks for the reminder." Yusei said. "Let's go."

"Wait, you guys are in the same dorm as Mitsuru-sempai?"Junpei asked. "Lucky."

"Well, it's only temporary." Crow said. "Until we find a place to stay long term."

"I get it, good luck you guys." Junpei said calmly.

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"Welcome back, did you enjoy your first day?" asked a man with glasses.

"I guess, but who are you?" Jack asked.

"Oh, my apologies, I'm the chairman of Gekkoukan high school. My name is Shuji Ikutsuki." Ikutsuki said calmly.

"Alright, well we're all here so what exactly happened last night?" Crow asked bluntly.

"Before I answer that, I need to ask you a question of my own." Mitsuru said calmly. "Those markings on your arms, what exactly are they?"

"You wouldn't believe us if we told you." Yusei said.

"You really don't know what we would believe." Mitsuru said calmly.

"Well if you want us to explain that explain yourselves first." Jack said.

"Very well, you're right." Mitsuru said with a chuckle. "Would you all believe me if I told you that a day had more than twenty-four hours?"

"Are you crazy, a day only has twenty-four hours." Leo said. "That's obvious."

"I'm not surprised that you would think that, but you all saw what happened last night." Akihiko said. "That's the hidden hour."

"Hidden hour, wait what are you talking about?" Minato asked.

"The dark hour, tonight at midnight you'll see if for yourselves." Mitsuru said calmly.

"Well, you should if you have the potential right sempai?" Yukari said while walking downstairs.

"That's true, but something tells me they'll have the potential." Akihiko said.

"Alright, well in that case it's our turn to explain." Yusei said. "You've heard of the Nazca lines?"

"Of course, they're one of the most recognizable features on the planet." Akihiko said.

"Well there's more to them than that." Crow said. "They're the seals on the forces of darkness." (1)

"Forces of darkness?" Mitsuru asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Maybe it would be easier to show you." Yusei said before the six marks began to glow crimson.

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"What in the world, what is this?" Yukari asked.

"This is the battle from 5000 years ago, when the Crimson Dragon fought against the Earthbound Immortals and the King of the Netherworld." Yusei said.

As he said that, six dragons appeared and attacked the Earthbound Immortals before forcing them underground.

"Wait, so that's where the Nazca lines came from?" Akihiko asked.

"Exactly, but the war is going to start again soon." Yuseisaid. "That's what these marks are, we're fighting on the side of the Crimson Dragon."

"Wait, you're telling me you're dragons?" Ikutsuki asked. "Well I suppose it is possible."

"No, that's not quite accurate." Crow said. "The war has become a battle that the six of us are really familiar with."

The moment he said that, the signers revealed their dragon type synchro monsters just as a second flash of crimson light enveloped everyone.

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"Well, it looks like there's a lot more to do this year than I thought." Akihiko said calmly.

"IT's been a long day, but come to the fourth floor at 11:30, that's when we'll show you the dark hour." Mitsuru said calmly.

"Right." Yusei said.

(The signers and Minato have learned of the dark hour, and SEES and Minato have learned of the war of the Crimson Dragon. Next chapter the first shadow will appear. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)

(1) (The signers are already aware of the coming battle with the dark signers because of Goodwin, he told them about it several times while working on the new ener-D reactor.)


	4. Chapter 4

"It's almost time, are you sure about this sempai?" Yukari asked.

"They trusted us with information that we asked for, and besides we already know they're all active during the dark hour." Mitsuru said calmly just before Minato and the signers walked into the command room. "I'm glad you all decided to trust me."

"That's not entirely true." Jack said. "We're here because we need to know if you were telling us the truth about this twenty-fifth hour."

"Why would we bother lying, especially since you clearly told us what those marks are." Akihiko said calmly. "Just a few more minutes."

"Hold on, you said that there's more to do this year than you thought." Akiza said looking at Akihiko. "What exactly happens during the dark hour?"

Suddenly all the power in the room shut off and the room began to glow a faint green.

"This is the dark hour." Yukari said just before an alarm started going off.

"What, this is bad Takeba get them to safety, a big one is heading straight for us." Mitsuru said.

"I guess my practice was worth it after all, lead the way Mitsuru." Akihiko said confidently before running out of the room with Mitsuru.

"Hold on, what exactly is going on around here?" Crow asked. "What did she mean a big one?"

"I don't have time to explain that right now, just follow me." Yukari said urgently. "We need to get to the roof, we should be safe up there."

"Safe from what?" Jack asked. "All I know is it looks like someone flipped a switch and shut off the entire world."

"From the shadows." Yukari said. "Look just come on."

"Right, let's go." Yusei said.

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"_Takeba, things are going badly." Mitsuru said. "Akihiko's been injured and the shadow is heading for your location."_

"Wait, it's on its way here?" Yukari asked.

"_You need to protect them, we can't have people die again." Mitsuru said._

"Again, what does that mean?" Yukari asked. "Figures she cut the communications."

"Alright, would you mind explaining how our sempai is able to communicate into our minds." Jack asked.

"It might be the same thing as me, she has psychic powers." Akiza suggested just as a creature with several arms and a blue mask appeared over the wall of the roof.

"Ok, you can do this just keep calm." Yukari said while pulling out the same gun she had the previous night and pressing it to her forehead.

"What the, this isn't the time to joke about something like that." Leo said nervously.

Alright, calm down and pull…, Yukari thought just as the creature struck her, causing the gun to fly towards Minato.

Almost absently, Minato reached down and picked up the gun and held it to his own head.

"What are you doing, we need to get away from this monstrosity." Jack yelled.

"Persona." Minato said in a barely audible whisper before pulling the trigger.

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"Mr. chairman, what's happening?" Mitsuru asked while running into the command center with Akihiko.

"You two arrived just in time, it would appear that Minato Arisato has the potential." Ikutsuki said calmly.

"Wait, you mean he summoned his persona already?" Akihiko asked.

"Yes, just take a look." Ikutsuki said calmly.

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"What in the world, what's going on?" Jack asked.

"I don't know, he did shoot himself right?" Akiza asked.

"I am thou, and thou art I. From the sea of thine soul I come, I am Orpheus, master of strings." Said a metallic creature floating above Minato.

Suddenly Minato grabbed his head and fell to his knees.

"Hey, what's going on?" Yusei asked. "We need to help him."

"Hold on, something else is happening." Luna said.

The moment Luna said that, Orpheus was torn apart from the inside, and a creature dressed entirely in black with six coffins attached to its sleeves appeared and brutally attacked the other creature.

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"What in the world, how is that possible?" Mitsuru asked.

"I'm not sure, but it would seem that Minato not only has the potential, but some other power as well." Ikutsuki said. "I think we should consider offering him a chance to join SEES."

"True, but what about the other six?" Akihiko asked.

"Well we should test to see if they have the potential, and the only way to do that is provide them with the opportunity to see for themselves." Ikutsuki said calmly.

"It's going to take some time to acquire that many Evokers." Mitsuru said calmly. "We may have to test them one by one first."

"Wait, what's that near Luna?" Ikutsuki asked suddenly.

"Is it a shadow?" Akihiko asked.

"I'll go help them." Mitsuru said before running towards the roof.

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"What's that thing?" Crow asked nervously.

"I don't know, but it's dangerous." Luna said. "The spirits are afraid of him."

Suddenly the creature roared to the sky and Orpheus reappeared.

"Look out, there are more of them." Jack said.

"Open the door, it's me." Mitsuru said suddenly.

"Mitsuru-sempai?" Crow asked before opening the door.

"Penthesilea, Bufula." Mitsuru said as just as her persona appeared.

"Mitsuru-sempai, what's going on?" Yusei asked.

"Those are shadows, Arisato we need to take them down, can you fight?" Mitsuru asked.

"I think so." Minato said. Why does this feel so familiar, he thought to himself just as Mitsuru handed him a sword.

"Alright, I'll take one of them you handle the other." Mitsuru said.

With those words, Mitsuru and Minato charged towards the shadows and destroyed them.

"Alright, now to take care of the other one." Mitsuru said turning towards Luna. "Luna when I give the signal move out of the way."

"What do you mean?" Luna asked. "You got them."

"There's another shadow directly behind you." Mitsuru said. "Bufula."

"Wait stop." Crow said jumping in front of the attack.

"That's not a shadow, it's a spirit." Leo said. "Luna can communicate with them."

"Wait, she can communicate with another world?" Mitsuru asked.

"Yeah, I don't know everything that's going on but we have a lot to talk about." Yusei said just before Minato passed out. "Hey, are you alright?"

"The dark hour is almost over, I'll get him medical attention, you all should get some rest, I'll see you tomorrow." Mitsuru said calmly.

(The first of the twelve arcana shadows has been defeated, but Minato has lost consciousness. Next chapter Minato will wake up and learn the identity of the signers personas and the nature of the Spirit World. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)


	5. Chapter 5

"What's going on, where am I?" Minato asked.

"Do not be alarmed, you are fast asleep in the real world." said an old man with a long nose. "This is the Velvet room, a place that exists between dream and reality, mind and matter."

"It appears that you've awakened to your power." said a blonde girl in a blue elevator operator's outfit.

"My power?" Minato asked. "Wait, are you talking about what happened on the roof?"

"Your persona. Our time is short, but there is still more to discuss, hold onto this." The man said before handing Minato a blue key the same color as the room.

"Until we meet again." the man said just as Minato slowly lost consciousness.

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"Hey, can you hear me?" Yukari asked. "Oh that's a relief, you had us worried."

"Yukari, what happened?" Minato asked. "Where am I?"

"The hospital, you've been unconscious for a week." Yukari said. "Do you remember anything?"

"Well, I remember some weird monster attacked us and then I shot myself in the head, but the rest is a blank." Minato said.

"Oh, well Mitsuru-sempai can fill you in on the details when you get back." Yukari said. "Oh and I'm glad you're alright."

"Ok, thanks." Minato said calmly. "I'll see you tonight."

"Alright, that sounds good." Yukari said before walking out of the room.

Well, I guess I should get moving, Minato thought. Still, why do I have a feeling something bad is going to happen?

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"Welcome back, it's good to see you're feeling better." Mitsuru said simply.

"It's good to see you Minato." Yusei said. "Of course things have gotten a lot stranger since you lost consciousness."

"I thought so, Yukari said you guys had a few things to tell me." Minato said. "Do they have anything to do with what happened that night?"

"Yeah, apparently we all have something called the 'potential'." Jack said. "In simple terms it means we all can move around during this dark hour, which only exists for us, and we have a persona to fight shadows and try to save people's lives."

"Exactly, that's why we're offering you a chance to join our team, the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad, SEES for short." Akihiko said calmly.

"Hold on, shouldn't you tell him what he's getting into first?" Crow asked. "I mean it might be important."

"I'm in." Minato said. "So what does SEES do?"

"We're officially a school club, but our operations take place during the dark hour." Mitsuru said before handing Minato a silver briefcase. "These are yours, welcome aboard Arisato."

"Well if he's part of the team should we tell him about that?" Akiza asked.

"That's up to Luna, if she wants to mention it she can but we can't force her." Yukari said.

"I don't mind." Luna said calmly. "Do you remember just before you passed out, and Mitsuru-sempai ran to attack me?"

"Wait, why would she have done that?" Minato asked in confusion.

"It's because the duel spirits also come out during the dark hour." Luna said. "Back when I was three, I traveled to the Spirit World for a month, and while I was there I met the Ancient Fairy Dragon and she asked me to protect the spirits."

"Apparently ever since then Luna's been connected to the Spirit World, and that's one of the reasons she has the potential." Mitsuru said calmly.

"I'll take your word on that one." Minato said before opening the briefcase. "An armband and a gun, this is one unique club."

"Don't worry, the dark hour is starting soon." Akihiko said. "You'll find out what those are for soon enough."

"Well the armband is just a club armband." Crow said.

"Well, as long as we're preparing to show Arisato what your persona are, we can take care of something else as well." Mitsuru said calmly. "Tonight, we're going to introduce you all to Tarturus."

"So that's what you meant?" Yusei asked. "Is this Tarturus place the same one you mentioned when we acquired our personas?"

"Exactly, we're heading out soon." Akihiko said. "This is going to be fun."

"Akihiko, you still need to recover." Mitsuru said calmly. "You don't want to anger me do you?"

"I know, hopefully I'm back to full strength soon." Akihiko said disappointedly.

"Don't worry sempai, just wait and you'll be fighting with us again in no time." Yukari said.

"Well in that case let's go, at least I'll be able to go inside with you." Akihiko said calmly.

"In that case let's move out." Mitsuru said calmly. "We're going to Tarturus."

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"I know you two have been doing this a lot longer than we have Mitsuru-sempai, but this doesn't look anything that you described Tarturus to be." Jack said calmly.

"There's no way that can be Tarturus, because that's our school." Crow said.

"Just be patient, it's nearly midnight." Akihiko said calmly.

A few minutes after he said that, the dark hour began and Gekkoukan High began to grow and change into an enormous tower.

"I stand corrected." Jack said quietly.

"This is Tarturus, so shall we?" Mitsuru asked before the ten of them walked into the tower. "Alright, since there are eight of you, we'll split up into two teams, Yusei will lead one and Minato will lead the other one."

"That works, in that case I'll go with Yukari, Leo, and Luna." Minato said.

"Alright, that sounds good." Yusei said calmly. "Well I guess all that's left is to introduce you to our personas."

With those words, the signers all took their evokers to their heads and fired.

"Meet the Ancient Fairy Dragon." Luna said calmly.

"This is my Power Tool Dragon." Leo said confidently.

"This is my Black Rose Dragon." Akiza said calmly.

"Say hello to the Black-Winged Dragon." Crow said with a smirk.

"This is my very soul, Red Dragon Archfiend." Jack said confidently.

"That leaves me, this is the Stardust Dragon." Yusei said. "Well, are you ready to head in?"

"Yeah, let's go." Minato said calmly.

(SEES and the signers have arrived at Tarturus. Next chapter they will explore the first two floors. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)

(Author's Note 1: If Minato seems ooc, it's because he doesn't fully understand the dark hour yet, and feels like the signers are in a similar situation to him, once he realizes this is what happened to his parents he will act more like he does in canon.)

(Author's Note 2: The idea for the signer dragon's being the signer's personas was inspired by Crimson Feathers by Shimmering-Sky.)


	6. Chapter 6

"Alright, so which team is going in first?" Akihiko asked.

"Minato's team can go first, plus there's a few things I need to talk to you about Mitsuru-sempai." Yusei said calmly.

"Alright, in that case you four can go through the door at the top of the stairs." Mitsuru said calmly.

"Right, well let's get going." Minato said before his team walked through the door into Tarturus.

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"_Can you all hear me?" Mitsuru asked._

"Mitsuru-sempai, how are you talking to us?" Luna asked.

"_It's my persona's ability, and since Tarturus changes its structure on a nearly daily basis outside support is vital to surviving in there." Mitsuru explained. "Now you need to be careful, Arisato and Takeba have weapons but you two don't."_

"Don't worry, we'll keep them safe and they have their personas." Yukari said.

"_Alright, I'll let you know if there's anything to keep an eye out for." Mitsuru said calmly._

"Right, so first thing is to make sure we know what we can do." Minato said. "If that crazy night was any indication, I have some control of fire."

"You do, I saw it myself." Yukari said. "My persona can use wind and some basic healing."

"Our persona are really similar, mine uses a mix of piercing and bashing attacks along with healing." Leo said confidently.

"That leaves me, and I have light spells and healing." Luna said.

"Right, that's a decent enough balance." Minato said. "That must be a shadow, so let's see how it goes."

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"What is it you wanted to speak with us about Fudo?" Mitsuru asked.

"Do you remember the vision I showed you two involving those purple flames?" Yusei asked.

"Yeah, you mentioned that's the disaster that your marks mean you can stop." Akihiko said.

"I can't help but wonder if there's a connection to Tarturus." Yusei said. "If the time's match up, and I think they do, Zero Reverse occurred the same moment the shadows first appeared."

"So you think these dark signers that your guardian mentioned could be connected to the dark hour." Mitsuru said calmly. (1)

"It's not just that, if they manage to find us things are going to get a lot worse." Jack said. "If we lose to them the world is going to end."

"That's great, so now on top of the dark hour and the shadows we need to worry about an ancient army of evil." Akihiko asked. "To think we thought senior year would be easy."

"Well for now we should focus on getting used to Tarturus, how are they doing?" Akiza asked.

"Actually they seem to be doing quite well, I wouldn't be surprised if we get to the top of Tarturus this year." Mitsuru said.

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"Power Tool Dragon, Bash." Leo said. "Are you alright Luna?"

"I'm ok, Ancient Fairy Dragon Dia." Luna said just before a soft glow enveloped Leo.

"Well, that looks like the last of them, I'm honestly surprised Mitsuru-sempai didn't say anything else, but then again it is only the first floor." Yukari said.

"Right, time for the others to get a feel for Tarturus." Minato said. "Wait does anyone know how to get out of here?"

"_My apologies, there was something that needed to be brought to my attention, there should be a green access point near you, that allows you to return to the first floor." Mitsuru said calmly._

"I see it, that green glowing thing over there." Leo said. "Come on you guys."

The moment he said that, the four of them activated the access point and disappeared.

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"Well, how was it?" Akihiko asked calmly.

"I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise for the others." Minato said calmly.

"Well I guess that means it's our turn." Yusei said. "Are you guys ready?"

"Of course, let's get going." Crow said.

"Good luck you guys." Leo said just as the second group entered Tarturus.

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"Those must be the shadows, this won't take long at all." Crow said pulling out his Evoker. "Black-Winged Dragon."

The moment Crow said that, he fired into his head and his dragon appeared behind him.

"_Be careful, it's immune to darkness." Mitsuru said suddenly._

"Wait, you're kidding me." Crow said nervously.

"Leave this one to me Persona." Akiza said calmly. "Black Rose Dragon Garu."

"Nice one Akiza." Jack said. "Better luck next time Crow."

"Yeah, still I wish I had more of a chance to show what I could do." Crow said as the two dragons disappeared.

"Let's get going." Yusei said.

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"What the, what was that?" Minato asked suddenly.

"What was what Minato?" Yukari asked.

"Do you see the door over there?" Minato asked.

"What door, there's nothing there." Yukari said.

Am I imagining something, Minato thought before walking up to the glowing blue door.

"Arisato, what are you doing?" Mitsuru asked.

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"How many of these things are you going to run headfirst into Jack?" Crow asked in annoyance.

"The more shadows we take down the stronger we get right, so as long as we see them we should fight the shadows." Jack said collapsing to his knees.

"_Be careful, your persona draws power from you directly." Mitsuru said. "If you overuse your power the consequences could be fatal."_

"That would be our signal to leave Jack." Yusei said just before a shadow attacked him from behind.

"Yusei, I activate the Rose Whip magic card." Akiza said as the whip appeared in her hand. "Take this."

"Thanks Akiza, we should head back for now." Yusei said.

"Right, that must be the access point Mitsuru-sempai mentioned." Crow said before the four signers returned to the first floor.

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"Welcome to the Velvet Room." said the old man with the long nose.

"Wait, why couldn't the others see that door?" Minato asked.

"The doorway to the Velvet Room can only be seen by a guest." said the girl.

"Hold on, you still haven't even told me who you two are." Minato said

"My apologies, my name is Igor." the man with the long nose said.

"I am Elizabeth, one who rules over power." said the girl calmly.

"Alright, so what exactly is this place?" Minato asked just before Igor smiled calmly.

"Allow me to explain." Igor said calmly.

(SEES has gotten used to exploring Tarturus, and Minato has been formally introduced to the residents of the Velvet Room. Next chapter a familiar face from New Domino City will arrive. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)


	7. Chapter 7

"This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter." Igor said calmly.

"That doesn't explain anything about this place." Minato said.

"What my master is saying is that you can't describe the Velvet Room, it's appearance and occupants are different for every visitor." Elizabeth explained.

"Ok, I guess that makes sense." Minato said. "Still why am I a guest of this room?"

"You are our guest for as long as you are bound by a contract." Igor explained.

"Oh, that thing." Minato said thoughtfully. "What did that mean anyway, 'I chooseth this fate of my own free will'? What fate?"

"It merely means that you're willing to accept the consequences of your actions." Igor said calmly. "As for our services, we will provide assistance as your powers grow."

"Alright, wait is this the only place I can find you two?" Minato asked.

"There is another entrance in the alleyway behind Paulownia Mall." Elizabeth said calmly.

"Right, well thanks." Minato said before walking out of the Velvet Room.

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"Looks like someone else is requesting our services." said a young man in a green jacket.

"Well it seems that tomorrow our client's wishes shall be achieved." said another man with long white hair. "I assume they requested the normal procedure."

"Yeah, same as always, the client wants someone dead so they went to us." said the first man.

"To think I thought finding you three would be difficult." said someone from behind the two men.

"What, who are you?" asked the second man before pulling out a revolver.

"Put that away Takaya, I have a proposition for you." said a man in a dark red suit. "I'm well aware of your special talents during the dark hour and I'm offering my assistance."

"Why should we believe you, are you working for Kirijo?" asked the first man.

"Jin, he isn't lying." Takaya said calmly. "So what reason do we have to allow you to join Strega?"

"Simple, my powers are strengthened during the dark hour, however…" the man said before pulling out a single card. "I have access to them at any time, appear Thought Ruler Archfiend."

As the man said that, the creature appeared behind him.

"Remarkable, perhaps you could be of service to us." Takaya said. "A partnership could benefit us both. Welcome to Strega."

"Thank you for the assistance, I'm certain things will be interesting from now on." the man said as his creature slowly disappeared.

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"Hey are you sure you're alright, I mean you just were staring at the wall for a while after we left Tarturus." Yukari said.

"I'll be fine, actually I wanted to ask Mitsuru-sempai something." Minato said suddenly.

"Well she had to take care of something for now, she said she'd be back later." Crow said. "That aside there's something I've been wondering, when did all of this start?"

"I don't know, but I have a feeling Mitsuru-sempai knows more than she's telling us." Minato said.

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"Hey Yusei, are you sure we can trust Goodwin?" Crow asked. "I mean I know he told us about the signers and the Crimson Dragon, but something feels off."

"I agree, but for the time being we just need to wait and see what happens." Yusei said.

"Yusei's right, don't forget the dark signers could be anyone." Jack said. "I wouldn't be surprised if we've already met some of them."

"That's not what I meant, isn't it weird that we would end up enrolled at this school where all of this shadow stuff is going on? I can't help but think there's a connection somewhere." Crow said.

"If there is we'll be able to take care of the dark signers just like we took out the shadow today." Jack said confidently.

"What are you guys talking about?" Akihiko asked while walking up to them.

"We were talking about our marks." Yusei said. "You remember the vision I showed you?"

"Don't worry, if you can handle Tarturus you can handle those guys." Akihiko said confidently.

"I wouldn't be so sure, but still thanks for the support sempai." Yusei said.

"Don't worry, we'll help you out however we can." Yukari said. "You can count on us."

"Thanks, but this isn't the same thing." Yusei said. "These battles are one on one."

"What do you mean, there's six of you and from what you said there's seven of them, that doesn't sound like one on one." Akihiko said.

"It's kind of complicated, but just know that we'll be able to take care of it." Yusei said.

"Alright, well if you say so." Minato said. "Just let us know if you need any help."

"Thanks." Akiza said. "That's really thoughtful."

_Thou hast formed a new bond, its power shall help guide you to your destiny, we bestow upon you a blessing when creating personas of the Fool arcana._

_Thou hast formed a new bond, its power shall help guide you to your destiny, we bestow upon you a blessing when creating personas of the Crimson arcana. _(1)

What the, that's weird, Minato thought; I'll just ask Igor when I see him.

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"Director Goodwin, are you absolutely certain we can trust them?" Lazar asked nervously.

"Lazar the signers are in good hands, I've worked with her father before and so I'm well aware of most things that are going on." Goodwin said calmly. "If there was anyone on Tatsumi Port Island I would trust more than him it would be professor Takeba, and we both know what happened to him."

"Yes, it was quite surprising, given the timing after all." Lazar said. "Still I can't help but be worried."

"I understand your concern, actually I was planning on paying them a visit soon." Goodwin said calmly. "I need to speak with her about a letter I received related to his research."

"Of course director, when should I schedule your trip?" Lazar asked.

"I'll be leaving tomorrow morning, it's vital that I get in touch with the signers before the battles begin." Goodwin said calmly.

(Minato has formed his first two social links, a fourth member has joined Strega, and Goodwin is preparing to go to Tatsumi Port Island. Next chapter the two events will be revealed to the signers, Minato, and Yukari, and another persona user will arrive at the dorm. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)

(1) (The Crimson Arcana is representative of Minato's link with the signers, and the personae of that arcana will correspond to cards they use besides the dragons.)


	8. Chapter 8

"So let me see if I understand your proposition, these six people you mentioned are connected to a god, and so you've informed a group of their location in order to do what exactly?" Takaya asked.

"Send them to another dimension where they'll be out of our problem permanently." said the man in the red suit.

"How can you be certain they'll be able to handle this, you already told us they aren't active during the dark hour." Jin said.

"True, but they possess powers outside of the dark hour just as I do." the man said. "Also even if they fall we can learn what our enemies are capable of"

"That's possible, very well I'm looking forward to seeing what these seven are capable of." Takaya said calmly.

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"Mitsuru-sempai, can I talk to you about something?" Minato asked just before her phone started to ring.

"One moment Arisato, hello?" Mitsuru asked. "Oh, I understand I'll be expecting you."

With those words Mitsuru hung up her phone and walked into her room.

What was that all about, Minato thought.

"Oh Minato, Akihiko-sempai had something important to tell us, we're all meeting up in the lounge." Akiza said.

"Oh, thanks for the head's up Akiza." Minato said.

"No problem." Akiza said calmly.

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"So what's the wait, why did you call all of us Akihiko-sempai?" Yukari asked.

"I found someone else with the potential, and he's going to be moving into the dorm soon." Akihiko said.

"Really that's good, the more persona users we have the easier things will be." Crow said.

"Hey, can someone give me a hand with this door?" asked a voice from outside. "This things kind of heavy."

"No way, he has the potential?" Yukari asked in shock.

"Hey Yuka-tan, did you hear the news?" Junpei asked walking into the room with a giant suitcase.

"It's a good thing you're here Iori, however there's something else we need to take care of." Mitsuru said while walking downstairs. "We should be having another guest arrive any minute."

"Wait, what do you mean?" Akihiko asked.

"Don't worry, we can trust him." Mitsuru said just before a limo pulled up in front of the dorm. "It's good to see you again Rex."

"The feeling is mutual Mitsuru, you've grown into quite the lovely young lady." Goodwin said calmly. "I take it you know why I'm here?"

"Of course, although are you certain about that?" Mitsuru asked.

"Completely, down to the second." Goodwin said.

"Wait, you know Goodwin Mitsuru-sempai?" Yusei asked.

"Yes, perhaps it would be better if we explained from the beginning." Mitsuru said. "You're aware of the experimental generator that powers this island correct?"

"Yeah, the ener-D reactor, that's how this island is able to function even though it's isolated from any external power source." Yukari said.

"That reactor was originally going to be built in New Domino City, the place that the signers originally came from, however due to other circumstances we were forced to move the reactor to this island." Goodwin said.

"That incident wouldn't happen to be referring to Zero Reverse would it?" Jack asked.

"You're correct, however that was due to the first reactor malfunctioning. Along with the influence of the dark signers." Goodwin explained. "However fate had a strange sense of humor that day."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yukari asked.

"Ten years ago, at the same moment that Zero Reverse occurred, another event occurred, the event that created Tarturus and the dark hour." Mitsuru said.

"Wait, ten years ago?" Minato asked. "Mitsuru-sempai, what happened?"

"A group of scientists were researching the shadows, in an attempt to harness their powers, but it went wrong and one escaped. As far as I can tell that shadow was eliminated that year, although there was one incident." Mitsuru said.

"An incident, what kind of incident?" Yukari asked.

"The shadow caused the death of several people on the moonlight bridge." Mitsuru said.

Wait, ten years ago, the moonlight bridge, Minato thought nervously. "What are you talking about Mitsuru-sempai?"

"Minato, are you alright?" Crow asked.

"Mitsuru-sempai, who was involved in researching that shadow?" Minato asked emphatically.

"I don't have a complete list of the scientists, but I do know two of them, my father and Yukari's father." Mitsuru said.

The moment those words left her mouth, Minato got up and walked out of the room quickly.

"Wait, what's wrong with him?" Junpei asked.

"Wait, I remember hearing about that, a massive explosion killed a lot of people." Yukari said before gasping. "No way, Minato."

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Luna asked nervously.

"Minato's parents were killed ten years ago remember Junpei, it must have been because of the shadow." Yukari said.

"Wait, but that would mean it's because of the dark hour." Leo said. "Someone should go make sure he's alright."

"Hold on Leo, we should give him some time." Yusei said. "That's a lot to take in."

"That's true but still we should at least let him know we're there to talk if he needs us." Akiza said.

"I agree, I'll go talk with him." Yukari said before glaring at Mitsuru. "You should have told us from the beginning sempai."

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"I should have guessed, that's the only thing that makes sense." Minato said angrily. "I should have known better than to trust her."

Suddenly someone knocked on his door.

"Minato, it's Yukari can I come in?" Yukari asked.

"Why, so you can pretend to be concerned about everything?" Minato asked angrily. "Your father was just as responsible as hers."

"I know, but that doesn't mean I wanted that to happen." Yukari said. "Look I'm not speaking for Mitsuru-sempai, but the rest of us are here for you."

When she said that, Yukari waited a few moments only to get no answer.

"I'm really sorry Minato, I wish I could help you." she said, walking away from the door.

"Yukari, thanks." Minato said quietly before going to his bed. That means a lot more than you know, he thought sadly.

(The dark signers have been informed of the signers location, and the two events of ten years ago have been revealed. Next chapter a new social link will be formed, and the first of the dark signers will arrive. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)


	9. Chapter 9

"Mitsuru-sempai, why didn't you tell us from the beginning?" Crow asked angrily. "I mean it's bad enough that those two catastrophic events occurred at the same time, but Minato's been on his own for ten years because of what happened."

"Crow, you should know that there's a valid reason for Mitsuru to not have mentioned it to you all." Goodwin said. "Besides the top priority is to make sure that the shadow that escaped is stopped. That's why Mitsuru decided to form this group."

"Rex was a close friend of my father, when he heard about the accident he came here." Mitsuru explained. "That was when he decided to move his reactor here, as a potential power source for us during the dark hour."

"So that's it." Yukari said walking downstairs. "Still this is the kind of thing you explain before forcing us into your group."

"Yuka-tan's right, you don't hide things like that." Junpei said.

"It's alright, there's no point in dwelling on the past." Akihiko said. "We'll just have to wait and see what Minato thinks in the morning."

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"Good morning Minato." Luna said.

"Morning Luna, is anyone else awake yet?" Minato asked.

"I am, and I mean what I said last night Minato, we're here for you." Yukari said while walking into the room.

"Thanks, that means a lot Yukari." Minato said.

_Thou hast formed a new bond, its power shall help guide you to your destiny, we bestow upon you a blessing when creating personas of the Lovers arcana._

Lovers, I wonder if that has any hidden meanings, Minato thought.

"Well anyway, I need to go grab something for archery club, I'll see you later." Yukari said.

"That reminds me, I wanted to look into something." Minato said. "See you tonight Luna."

"See you Minato." Luna said calmly.

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"So this is the place the signers are calling home, well I'm not impressed." said a figure in a black cloak with yellow markings. "Still, why we thought coming one at a time was a good idea is something I'll never understand."

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"_I know that you don't trust me, and there's good reason for that." said a man in a dark red jacket. "However the signers have gained powerful allies, it would be in your best interest to not all head to them at once."_

"_Why exactly should we trust you, this could easily be one of your numerous plans to further your own goals." said a man in a black cloak with red markings. "Why should we take your advice?"_

"_I have proof that my words are honest." the first man said before handing a photograph to the second man._

"_I see, very well." the second man said. "One by one the signers will fall."_

"_I'm glad we're in agreement, I'll be expecting you."the first man said before disappearing._

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"If there are so many allies to the signers it would make more sense to attack them as a group. I don't care how many of them there are none of them will last once we summon those creatures." the man said before looking to the sky. "Still as long as I'm here I just need to find her and send her directly to the netherworld."

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"Oh Crow, I've been meaning to ask, what are those cards in your pocket?" Junpei asked.

"Oh, you mean my deck." Crow said. "I'll show you what it is during lunch. Jack, what do you say to a match?"

"You're challenging me to a duel, I'm more than happy to wipe you out Crow." Jack said with a smirk.

"Duel, you mean a swordfight?" Junpei asked. "Don't you two think that's a little dangerous?"

"It's not what you think." Crow said. "Just have everyone head to the roof during lunch."

"Alright, if you say so." Junpei said.

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"Hey Luna, I wanted to ask you something." Leo said.

"What's wrong Leo?" Luna asked.

"No, nothing's wrong." Leo said. "I was just wondering about Tarturus, I don't know why but I had a bad feeling in there."

"Oh, I felt the same way." Luna said. "I'll see if any of the spirits know anything tonight."

"That's a good idea, hopefully it isn't related to the dark signers." Leo said.

"I hope so Leo, I really hope so." Luna said.

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"What do you two think you're doing?" Akihiko asked as he walked up to the roof with Mitsuru.

"It's not the kind of duel you think Akihiko-sempai."Akiza said. "Just watch."

"I'm surprised Crow, what made you decide to challenge me to a duel?" Jack asked.

"Well, I've been meaning to take you down a peg or two." Crow said. "Plus we still need to show the others what a duel is."

"That's true, alright I always have time to take you down Crow." Jack said with a smirk.

The moment he said that, Crow and Jack activated their duel discs.

"Wait, what are those things?" Yukari asked.

"Those are duel discs, they're one of the two things you need to duel." Akiza said. "The other one is a deck."

"A deck, you mean those cards?" Junpei asked.

"Exactly, just watch." Yusei said. "This is how our battle is going to be fought."

"It's been a while since our last match Crow, so I'll let you take the first turn." Jack said confidently.

"Well if you want to lose that badly Jack, I'll oblige." Crow said with a smirk.

"Let's duel." Crow and Jack said simultaneously.

Crow 4000 Jack 4000: "I'll start by summoning my Blackwing– Shura the Blue Flame in attack mode." Crow said confidently.

"No way, how did he do that?" Yukari asked in disbelief.

"It's a duel, the duel disc reads the cards and creates holographic versions of the monsters." Yusei explained. "Of course there's a lot more to it than that."

"What do you mean?" Minato asked.

"Jack and Crow aren't able to, but I can summon the monsters for real." Akiza said. "I'm a psychic duelist, and the dark signers can summon their monsters for real as well."

"Well that's great, I thought we had enough problems." Junpei said nervously.

(The signers are demonstrating a duel to the members of SEES, and a dark signer has arrived on Tatsumi Port Island. Next chapter the duel will continue and Ikutsuki will reveal an interesting development. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)


	10. Chapter 10

"Is that all you're going to do Crow?" Jack asked with a smirk.

"Not even close, you know the saying birds of a feather flock together, so I'll summon out Blackwing – Bora the Spear, and I'll set two cards facedown, that ends my move."

"I should have seen that coming, it's my turn now Crow." Jack said. "I'll start things off by summoning Vice Dragon thanks to his special ability, and next I'll bring out my Dread Dragon tuner monster."

"Can someone please explain what exactly a duel is?"Junpei asked.

"Just watch, it's a lot easier to see a duel than to hear about one." Yusei said.

"This certainly is different, I wonder how it would work then." Akihiko said calmly.

"Now then, I'll tune Dread Dragon with Vice Dragon in order to synchro summon Exploder Dragonwing." Jack said. "Now I set three cards facedown and attack Shura with Exploder Dragonwing. Now thanks to his special ability your monster is automatically destroyed and you lose life points equal to his attack points."

"Not this time Jack, I play the effect of Blackwing – Kalut the Moonshadow from my hand, now Shura's attack points increase to 3200, more than enough to take down your Dragon." Crow said. "Next since it destroyed a monster, Shura let's me summon Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind in attack mode."

"I end my turn." Jack said.

Crow 4000 Jack 3200: "It's my move, and I got a real winner." Crow said with a smirk. "I play a trap card from my hand, go Delta Crow Anti Reverse."

"You just did exactly what I wanted Crow, I play the trap card Red Aura." Jack said. "This card activates whenever it gets destroyed, now by removing Exploder Dragonwing from my graveyard I can summon my ace monster."

"Great, I should have guessed it wasn't over." Crow said nervously.

"I summon to the field my very soul, Red Dragon Archfiend." Jack said confidently.

"That's his persona." Yukari said in shock.

"Well that title definitely fits." Mitsuru said.

"This duel is far from over, so I'll tune Gale with Bora in order to synchro summon Blackwing Armor Master." Crow said.

"Hold on you guys, lunch is almost over." Minato said. "We should head back, you two can finish this game back at the dorm."

"Alright, consider yourself lucky this time Crow." Jack said as he turned off his duel disc.

"I'm the lucky one, you were about to lose Jack, or did you forget Armor Master's special ability?" Crow asked.

"Are they always like this?" Yukari asked.

"Yeah, but you get used to it." Akiza said. "Plus when it comes down to it those two will be there for each other no matter what."

"Who does that remind you of Akihiko?" Mitsuru asked with a smile.

"I just might pay him a visit, maybe this time he'll agree." Akihiko said as the group went back into the school.

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"Hey, what's with the freaky outfit? Are you lost or something?" asked a man with a mohawk.

"That's none of your concern, now unless you want to be sent to the netherworld I suggest you get out of my way." said a man in a cloak.

"Is that some kind of joke, you don't know who you're messing with." the first man said before pulling out a baseball bat. "Now get lost."

"It's your funeral, I call Earthbound Immortal Cusillu." the second man said.

A few moments after he said those words the alley was filled with the sounds of screams before dropping to a deadly silence.

"Soon enough Luna, our battle will soon begin." the second man said before walking off into the shadows.

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"What was that?" Junpei asked.

"Did you see something Junpei?" Yusei asked.

"Yeah, a giant purple monkey in the sky. It was there a second ago and then it disappeared." Junpei said.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking Yusei?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, we need to let Luna know that the first one is here."Yusei said.

"Right, let's get going." Crow said. "Things are starting earlier than we thought."

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"Ah, you're all here." Ikutsuki said calmly. "That's good, I've made an interesting discovery."

"Discovery, what discovery?" Akihiko asked.

"I was researching the effects of apathy syndrome, when a mysterious purple monkey appeared in the sky." Ikutsuki said. "The strange thing is as it appeared a victim of apathy syndrome temporarily recovered. Of course once the event was over they started displaying symptoms again."

"Wait, you mean that they were able to partially recover from apathy syndrome?" Mitsuru asked in shock.

"It would appear so, my only theory is that whatever power was unleashed today just may be the key to stopping the shadows once and for all." Ikutsuki said.

"That's great, that was a dark signer." Yusei said. "If we don't stop them they'll destroy the world."

"That's ironic, the two forces we're fighting against are working against each other." Junpei said. "Maybe that's how we can beat them both."

"I'm heading out, hopefully he'll listen this time." Akihiko said.

With those words Akihiko walked out of the dorm.

"Where is he going?" Leo asked.

"To talk to an old friend." Mitsuru said. "Mr. chairman is there anything else?"

"Actually yes, well to be more accurate I have a theory but I need to see a few more things before confirming it." Ikutsuki said calmly.

"Oh yeah, I need to go take care of something." Minato said. "I'll be right back."

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"Welcome to the Velvet Room." Igor said calmly.

"Thanks, actually I wanted to ask about a few things." Minato said.

"Of course, what is it that you would like to know?" Elizabeth asked.

"Well, you mentioned social links but I wanted to make sure I understood what you meant, so far I've apparently formed the fool, lovers, and crimson links." Minato said.

"Interesting, I've heard of the fool arcana and the lovers arcana but never the crimson arcana." Elizabeth said. "Perhaps it represents your powers."

"No, it seems that your destiny has been altered. However this may be for the best, we shall see what happens." Igor said calmly.

"Is there anything else you wanted?" Elizabeth asked politely.

"Not for now, but thanks." Minato said before leaving the Velvet Room.

(The signers have learned the first dark signer has arrived, but a mysterious impact on apathy syndrome has been discovered. Next chapter SEES will return to Tarturus. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)

(Author's Note: The dark signer battles will occur during the new moon to contrast the full moon shadows.)


	11. Chapter 11

"Mitsuru-sempai, I just thought of something, a lot of us don't have any weapons." Akiza said. "Our persona are strong, but if we use them to much it could be bad."

"I agree, that's why tonight is the last time we go to Tartutus until you all are properly equipped." Mitsuru said calmly.

"Right, that makes sense." Junpei said. "Oh yeah, where did Yusei go?"

"He wanted to check something, he'll be here any minute." Crow said calmly.

The moment he said that, the front door of the dorm opened as Minato and Yusei walked in.

"Well, as long as we're all here." Mitsuru said. "Arisato, are you able to lead a team through Tarturus again tonight?"

"I'll be fine." Minato said calmly.

"Wait, where's Akihiko-sempai?" Yusei asked. "Isn't he trying to recover?"

"He went to see an old friend of his, although I doubt either of them will be joining you tonight." Ikutsuki said.

"Well in that case let's move out." Minato said. "Yusei, are we going with the same groups as last time?"

"Hold on, what about me?" Junpei asked.

"That's a good point, there are nine of us who can go but a team that large won't be as efficient." Yukari said. "In other words someone needs to wait with Mitsuru-sempai."

"I can wait." Luna said. "Actually I wanted to talk to Mitsuru-sempai anyway."

"Alright, then you're with me, Minato, and Leo." Yukari said. "That should be fine."

"No problem Yuka-tan, leave everything to me." Junpei said confidently.

"Well, let's go." Yusei said as the eight members of SEES walked up into Tarturus.

"Now then, what's on your mind Luna?" Mitsuru asked calmly.

"Well, you mentioned we all need some kind of weapon but I don't know what I could use." Luna said.

"I see, is that all?" Mitsuru asked.

"Well, that's not the only thing." Luna said. "I think this tower has more than just shadows in it."

"What do you mean?" Mitsuru asked.

"Well, the spirits are talking about a powerful force, but I don't know what it is." Luna said. "I'm a little scared to be honest."

"I understand that, don't worry." Mitsuru said calmly. "We'll figure things out as a group."

"You're right, thanks." Luna said.

"Now then, as for your other problem I may have a solution for you." Mitsuru said calmly.

"Oh, thanks." Luna said with a smile.

"Wait, something strange is going on." Mitsuru said.

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"There's another one, Persona." Junpei said with a smirk. "Agi."

"Not bad Junpei, io, Dia." Yukari said. "Are you still alright Minato?"

"I'll be fine." Minato said just before another shadow appeared. "Orpheus, Bash."

"_Arisato, be careful something powerful is starting to appear." Mitsuru suddenly said._

"That's great, we need to move." Minato said. "Ignore any shadows you see, we're getting out of here now. Do the others know?"

"_I'm about to let them know, but be extremely careful." Mitsuru said._

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"Yusei, stand back." Akiza said calmly. "I have an idea."

"What are you thinking Akiza?" Jack asked.

"I have a few cards with me that I don't use to duel, but they come in handy." Akiza said. "I play Rose Whip."

"Oh yeah, Akiza you aren't limited to monsters are you?" Crow asked.

"Exactly, now then leave this to me." Akiza said before using her new whip to destroy two shadows.

"_Can you all hear me?" Mitsuru asked._

"Mitsuru-sempai, is something wrong?" Yusei asked.

"We're all fine, do the others need our help?" Jack asked.

"_No, you need to get past that floor immediately, something dangerous is coming." Mitsuru said. "I told the others but it's extremely important you get out of there."_

"Right, thanks for the warning Mitsuru-sempai." Yusei said. "Let's get going."

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"I see you've made quite the impression on people." said the man in the dark red jacket.

"You, what business do you have with me?" asked the man in the black cloak with the yellow markings.

"Oh don't be cruel, after all I have interesting news for you regarding the signers." The first man said calmly.

"What news could you possibly have for me?" the second man asked.

"They're even stronger than you know, of course if you let me I can help you with that." the first man said. "Of course either way I can tell you when to face Luna. The new Moon, it's when the other powers that exist here are weakest and yours should be strongest."

With those words a portal appeared behind the first man and he disappeared.

"The new moon, very well that's tomorrow, however if he's trying to deceive me I'll personally destroy him." the second man said coldly.

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"Oh man, that was way to close." Crow said. "I can't believe what I saw."

"You're telling us, if it decided to follow us up the stairs we would have died no questions asked." Jack said in annoyance.

"Look you guys, we're not getting anywhere like this." Yukari said. "Let's just try to find the access point."

"I agree, that's our best option." Yusei said.

"Well that's easy, it's right there." Minato said calmly.

"Ok, let's go." Junpei said calmly.

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"So like this?" Luna asked as she gave the rapier a practice swing.

"Whoa, are you trying to kill me Luna?" Leo asked as the blade passed in front of his nose.

"Leo, are you alright?" Luna asked.

"Yeah, but where did you get that?" Leo asked.

"That would be mine." Mitsuru said calmly. "As for your question Luna, yes but it can be just as efficient to use the rapier as a stabbing weapon."

"Ok, well thanks." Luna said before handing the sword back to Mitsuru.

"Well, the dark hour should be over soon so we should head back." Yukari said.

"She's right, let's get going." Jack said calmly. "Still, we should be on our guard after what happened this morning."

"He's right, the first one could strike at any time." Crow said.

"Don't worry about Luna, she can win no problem." Leo said confidently.

"Thanks Leo, I'll do my best." Luna said with a small smile.

(The members of SEES have barely avoided their first encounter with the Reaper, but the first of the dark signers is preparing to engage the signers. Next chapter the first shadow duel will begin. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)


	12. Chapter 12

"When do you think the dark signer will attack?" Crow asked.

"There's no way to know, but for now we should be careful." Yusei said.

"You're sure this dark signer person is going to show up soon?" Akihiko asked.

"Yeah, if I had to guess it would be tonight." Yusei said.

"In that case we'll avoid going to Tarturus tonight." Mitsuru said while walking downstairs.

The moment she said that, purple flames surrounded the dorm.

"Correction, he's here now." Jack said.

"The first of the signers will fall here and now." said a voice outside the dorm just before a hooded man appeared in the middle of SEES.

"What the, how did anyone get in here?" Yukari asked while walking downstairs. "No way, a shadow now?"

"Shadow, what are you talking about?" the man asked. "I'm here to destroy the signers, starting with Luna."

"In that case we'll need to move to the roof, there's not enough room to duel down here." Crow said. "Jack could you let Luna know her guest is here."

"No problem, let's see how this goes." Jack said calmly.

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"What did you say Iori?" Mitsuru asked nervously.

"Those weird flames, they're absorbing people." Junpei said. "Plus there was a shadow."

"What, but it isn't the dark hour." Akihiko said nervously.

"That's not the only thing, I could summon Hermes."Junpei said.

"Enough of this, it's time for the netherworld to claim the first signer." the dark signer said while activating his duel disc.

"Wait, before we duel shouldn't you tell me your name?" Luna asked.

"Devack, of course that won't change the outcome of our shadow duel." Devack said calmly.

"Be careful, this duel is going to be dangerous." Yusei said. "Get behind us."

"Let's duel." said Luna and Devack simultaneously.

Luna 4000 Devack 4000: "I'll go first, so I summon Regulus in attack mode, and next I set two cards facedown." Luna said. "That ends my move."

"Impressive, however this duel is going to end with your defeat." Devack said. "I summon Berserk Gorilla in attack mode and next I activate the Shadow Ape magic card, this card turns my one monster on my field into a negative level monster. Now I set one card and attack with Berserk Gorilla."

"I play my trap card, Spiritual Guardian." Luna said. "This card protects Regulus from being sent to the graveyard."

"That may be, but you still lose your life points." Devack said. "I end my turn."

Luna 3700 Devack 4000: "It's my move, so I'll start by summoning Sunlight Unicorn in attack mode." Luna said. "Next I'll activate his ability."

"Not so fast, I activate the trap card Earthbound Inferno."Devack said. "This card costs 1000 life points, but in exchange I stop your attack this round, add a field spell and Earthbound Immortal to my hand, and summon two monsters to my field, so I summon Ape Magician, and the dark tuner Dark Chimp."

"I activate the equip spell Horn of the Unicorn, and now I set one card and end my turn." Luna said.

Luna 3700 Devack 3000: "It's my move, so first I'll dark tune Dark Chimp with Berserk Gorilla in order to summon Zeman the Ape King." Devack said. "Now I play the field spell Closed Forest."

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"This is bad, he has everything he needs to summon his Earthbound Immortal." Crow said.

"I know, but with any luck Luna can take him down before things get out of hand." Yusei said.

"What's going on, there's an incredibly powerful shadow nearby, but how is that even possible?" Mitsuru asked nervously.

"It's not a shadow, Devack is preparing to summon his Earthbound Immortal." Crow said.

"Get behind us, things are going to get very dangerous." Jack said.

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"Luna, I activate the magic card Monster Reborn in order to bring Berserk Gorilla back from the graveyard, and now I'll sacrifice Berserk Gorilla and Ape Magician in order to summon Earthbound Immortal Cusillu." Devack said.

The moment he said that, a stone heart appeared in the sky behind him before the purple flames flew into it and it transformed into a giant monkey with yellow marking across it's body.

"That's what you need to stop?" Akihiko asked. "That thing's stronger than any shadow I've ever seen."

"That's not the worst part, there are seven of them, and we need to beat them all otherwise the world is going to be destroyed." Akiza said.

"Well all we can do for now is trust in Luna's ability to win." Minato said.

"You're right." Yusei said.

"Don't worry, I know Luna's going to win." Leo said confidently.

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"I attack you directly with Earthbound Immortal Cusillu."Devack said just before Cusillu punched the roof and sent Luna flying into the door.

"You haven't won yet Devack." Luna said while getting back up slowly.

"That will change soon enough, Zeman the Ape King attacks Regulus." Devack said.

"I play the Ancient Sunshine trap card, now I remove Ancient Fairy Dragon from the game to deal 2100 points of damage." Luna said.

"That isn't enough to save you Luna, I end my turn."Devack said calmly.

Luna 100 Devack 900: "It's my move." Luna said before her mark began to glow.

"What, how is that possible?" Devack asked nervously.

"This card, I've never seen it before." Luna said in surprise. "I get it, I activate the magic card Crimson Chance."

"What in the world, what does that do?" Devack asked.

"I draw the top card of my deck, and if I draw a monster I can deal damage equal to its attack points." Luna said as she drew her card. "I drew Fire Princess, with 1300 attack points."

The moment she said that, a crimson beam shot out of her duel disc and wiped out the last of Devack's life points before he fell to the ground and a yellow light shot off into the distance.

Suddenly Luna collapsed to the ground.

"Luna, we need to make sure she's alright." Leo said urgently.

"She'll be ok Leo, give her some time to rest." Yusei said. "I think we should explain what's going on now."

"That would be a good idea, especially if there are six more of those creatures." Mitsuru said calmly.

(The first dark signer has fallen, but six are still preparing to confront the signers. Next chapter the signers will explain what they know about the forces of the netherworld. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)


	13. Chapter 13

"Alright, well you just saw the force we're fighting against." Yusei said. "We need to defeat seven of them, otherwise a portal to the Netherworld will open and the world will be destroyed."

"That's just great, as if we didn't have enough problems."Junpei said nervously.

"There's more, those purple flames that were absorbed by Cusillu contained the souls of the people who were engulfed by those flames." Akiza said.

"Wait, so how are we supposed to rescue them?" Yukari asked nervously.

"Once the last of the dark signers is beaten they should come back, plus even if they won't once we finish our battle we can bring them back another way." Jack said.

"Right, still there's the fact that these clearly weren't shadows." Akihiko said. "Still there was clearly something else about that overgrown monkey."

"I agree, the next time one of them arrives we face them at midnight." Mitsuru said. "It's clear that there's something going on."

"Well for now we should let Luna rest for a while." Crow said. "If what Goodwin said is true, a shadow duel is as exhausting as exploring Tarturus."

"If that's true things are going to be interesting this year." Akihiko said with a smirk.

"Akihiko are you trying to make me mad?" Mitsuru asked. "If you keep up that reckless behavior you'll never be able to rejoin the exploration."

"I know." Akihiko said.

"We can discuss this again tonight, for now you all have the rest of the day to yourselves." Mitsuru said calmly.

"Thank you Mitsuru-sempai." Akiza said calmly.

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"Interesting, it seems they're even stronger than you said." said a man on a roof across from the dorm. "Depending on their actions we may need to personally intervene."

"Takaya, we both know that they're going to get involved with these activities." said a second man. "If you want my advice I would keep a close eye on all of them."

"I agree, there's definitely something unusual about them." Takaya said quietly before the two men vanished.

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"Oh good morning Yukari-san." said a young boy.

"Huh, oh Ken-kun." Yukari said. "It's good to see you."

"You know him Yukari?" Akiza asked.

"Oh yeah, you two haven't met yet." Yukari said. "Akiza this is Ken-kun, Ken this is my new dorm mate Akiza."

"I see, it's very nice to meet you Akiza-san." Ken said politely.

"It's nice to meet you too Ken." Akiza said.

"Well, if you'll excuse me." Ken said. "I need to go to the store."

"Alright, see you around Ken-kun." Yukari said calmly as he walked off. "He's a good kid, I wish Junpei was more mature."

"He'll get there." Akiza said. "Just give him some time."

"I guess you have a point." Yukari said thoughtfully.

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"Hey Minato, I've been meaning to talk to you about something." Yusei said.

"Alright, what's on your mind?" Minato asked.

"Well you're the leader of our group, but I don't really feel like we know each other that well." Yusei said.

"That's true, so what exactly is there to tell about you?" Minato asked calmly.

"That's a long story, but I guess the best place to start is when I first met the others." Yusei said. "The day that we ended on Tatsumi Port Island."

"So what happened?" Minato asked.

"Eight years ago, it would have been ten but the bridge was destroyed." Yusei said. "Ironic when you think about it. I was taken to a fairly nice house along with Jack and Crow."

"You three get along well don't you?" Minato asked.

"Better than most people, of course there was one other friend of ours." Yusei said. "We tried to stay in touch with him but from what I heard he died."

"I see, still there's not much you can do about that." Minato said. "What was your friends name?"

"His name was Kalin, he managed to come here one time."Yusei said. "I have a picture from that day."

As he said that, Yusei pulled a small picture out of his pocket and handed it to Minato.

"Is that him?" Minato asked. "You four look like you were ready to take on the world."

"We felt like we could." Yusei said laughing. "Still, all good things needed to end and he had to go back. That was the last time we saw him."

"I see; that must be tough." Minato said quietly.

"It's alright, there's still plenty of memories." Yusei said. "Plus we owe it to Kalin to make sure the dark signers and the shadows are stopped."

_Thou hast brought out new levels of power. The strength to overcome the coming trials has manifested. Your power to create personas of the Crimson arcana has increased._

"I agree, let's head back." Minato said calmly.

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"Mitsuru, what do you think about that creature?" Akihiko asked.

"I'm not sure, it definitely felt like a shadow but it was different." Mitsuru said. "I've already called Rex Goodwin to discuss that."

"That's the thing, I don't know why but I have a bad feeling about him." Akihiko said. "It's almost too convenient that those two events happened simultaneously and that they would all be moved into this dorm."

"I understand your concerns, however for now he is our best source of information." Mitsuru said. "That aside the chairman will be here tomorrow."

"Ikutsuki-san?" Akihiko asked. "That's a surprise, is it related to that monster from this morning?"

"I would assume so, still if there is a connection our personas will allow us to stop these Earthbound Immortal creatures." Mitsuru said.

"Hopefully my injuries heal soon, I'm looking forward to getting back in the battle." Akihiko said confidently.

"I understand, but until you're fully recovered you need to rest." Mitsuru said. "Besides we can't have the rest of the team depending on you all the time Akihiko."

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"Good to see you're up Luna, are you sure you're alright?"Akiza asked.

"I'm ok, thanks Akiza." Luna said. "That makes one down right?"

"Yeah, there are only six dark signers to go." Akiza said in agreement.

(The members of SEES have realized what the dark signers are capable of and now are preparing for the coming battles. Next chapter Goodwin and Ikutsuki will both arrive at the dorm. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)


	14. Chapter 14

"Excuse me, Mitsuru-sempai, can I come in?" asked a voice from outside the door.

"Izinski, yes the door is unlocked." Mitsuru said just before Akiza walked into the room.

"I wanted to ask you about what happened when we were leaving Tarturus before, Luna's learning how to use that sword like you isn't she?" Akiza asked.

"Yes, relying exclusively on your persona isn't going to be efficient in regards to defeating the shadows." Mitsuru said. "I'll be teaching her how to handle a rapier. Of course there's still the matter of the rest of you."

"I had a feeling, but you don't need to worry." Akiza said. "I have something in mind."

"I see, well that's certainly impressive." Mitsuru said calmly. "Of course there's no way of knowing how things will turn out."

"That's true, but as long as we stick together things will work out." Akiza said.

"I agree, we'll go to Tarturus tonight." Mitsuru said calmly. "Akihiko should help the others pick up some weapons."

"Right, this should be interesting." Akihiko said with a smirk.

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"Oh Minato, I've been meaning to talk to you." Yukari said. "I know that things weren't the best for you because of what happened, but we're still on your side."

"I know, thanks Yukari." Minato said quietly.

Suddenly Yukari's phone beeped.

"A text message?" Yukari asked before looking at her phone. "What does she want?"

"Is something wrong Yukari?" Minato asked.

"That was my mom, she wanted to let me know she's found a nice man that I should meet. Of course that's just like her." Yukari said angrily.

"You don't get along with your mom?" Minato asked.

"That's one way of putting it." Yukari said. "Why don't we talk about something else."

"Alright, sure thing." Minato said calmly.

_Thou hast brought out new levels of power. The strength to overcome the coming trials has manifested. Your power to create personas of the Lovers arcana has increased._

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"I trust you're all prepared for our exploration tonight." Mitsuru said calmly.

"Wait a moment Mitsuru, before you all go to Tarturus there are quite a few things that need to be cleared up." Ikutsuki said calmly. "I believe you wanted to explain what happened regarding those strange creatures."

"I did, the Earthbound Immortal that you witnessed yesterday was the weakest of them all, of course that should tell you how powerful these creatures truly are." Goodwin said. "There is a very good possibility that in the future the dark signers will defeat the signers. If that were to happen it would mean the end of the world."

"Well it seems there are two threats to the world, I took some time to look into the events of the night the shadow attacked the dorm, and if my research is correct they are dangerous as well." Ikutsuki said. "It's imperative that whenever you detect one of these powerful shadows you destroy it immediately."

"Wait a second, why don't we try and have those dark signers fight against the shadows for us?" Leo asked.

"It's highly likely that these dark signers are either working with the shadows, or they transmogrify during the dark hour." Mitsuru said.

"That's bad, if they're working together we're in trouble." Jack said.

"True, but assuming these dark signers do transmogrify it means we have an advantage over them." Akihiko said calmly. "Still, those purple flames were definitely not natural."

"Those flames were absorbing the souls of the people nearby, it's possible that the only way to bring them back will be to defeat all of the Earthbound Immortals." Goodwin said.

"Well it's unfortunate that not all of us can help you."Ikutsuki said. "Still it's possible that we might be able to assist you in some way."

"What are you thinking Ikutsuki?" Akihiko asked.

"These dark signers must be here on Tatsumi Port Island, so as a result we may be able to identify them ahead of time." Ikutsuki said.

"That won't be possible, the dark signers are able to blend into a crowd easily. Unless you know exactly who they are or what to look for you'll never find them." Goodwin said calmly.

"Well the important thing is we keep our eyes open for any of the dark signers." Yusei said.

"Agreed, now then it's almost midnight so we should head to Tarturus." Minato said. "Didn't you say there was a barrier a few floors above us?"

"Yes, but you're still quite a way from that barrier." Mitsuru said. "I don't think you'll be able to get there tonight."

"Maybe, but I think for now we should go with a different team." Minato said. "We can alternate every night to stay on the top of our game, with nine persona users we'll be good every night."

"That's true, I assume the leaders will be you and Fudo?" Mitsuru asked.

"That's what I was thinking, I'll head up with Akiza, Yukari, and Crow today." Minato said.

"That sounds like a plan." Akiza said.

"Right, Akihiko did they manage to get weapons?" Mitsuru asked.

"Yeah, well except for Akiza." Akihiko said. "I'm still not sure why that was a good idea."

"This is why, I activate the Rose Whip magic card."Akiza said as the whip appeared in her hand. "I'm a psychic duelist so I can materialize my cards for real."

"Not bad, that can come in handy during the battles with those giant shadows." Junpei said with a smirk.

"Right, well for the time being we should go to Tarturus Akihiko said.

"Of course, I wish you all the best of luck in your exploration." Goodwin said calmly. "I should return to New Domino City for the time being."

"Of course, whenever you want to stop by just let us know." Ikutsuki said calmly.

The moment he said that, Goodwin and Ikutsuki exchanged a glance before Goodwin walked out of the dorm.

"Well after you Yukari." Akiza said calmly.

"Thanks, let's go take down some of those shadows." Yukari said while grabbing her bow and walking out the door.

(The members of SEES have begun to consider the possibility of the dark signers and shadows working together. Next chapter SEES will get to the first guardian. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)

(Author's Note: The past few chapters have been attempting to get some of the explanations underway, the formula from this point forward should be mostly talking outside of Tarturus, and mostly action inside Tarturus and during full moon missions.)


	15. Chapter 15

"Alright, let's get going." Minato said calmly.

"Right, that sounds like a plan." Crow said confidently.

With those words, Crow, Minato, Akiza, and Yukari went into Tarturus.

"Good luck you guys." Luna said calmly.

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The moment the four members of SEES arrived on the fourth floor of Tarturus a group of shadows noticed them before launching agi spells at them.

"Persona." The four of them said together.

As soon as the personas appeared, Orpheus blocked the flames with his lyre while Io launched a wind spell at one of the shadows and Akiza materialized her whip in her hands.

"On the left Crow." Akiza said before her whip vanished and a sword appeared in her hand that she used to slice one of the shadows in half.

"Black-Winged Dragon, Mudo." Crow said with a smirk.

With those words a purple ring surrounded one of the shadows before a flash of light destroyed it.

Suddenly even more shadows appeared.

"Alright, maybe we should run." Crow said nervously.

"Black Rose Dragon, Black Rose Gale." Akiza said suddenly just as a powerful wind sent the shadows flying away from the members of SEES.

"Wait, how did you do that?" Yukari asked in shock.

"That's just the tip of the iceberg, Akiza's a powerful psychic duelist." Crow said with a smirk.

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"Good work Yusei." Akihiko said calmly. "You're picking up that sword quickly."

"He's not the only one." Jack said. "Alright, let's keep going Junpei."

"Took the words right out of my mouth." Junpei said with a grin.

"Hold on a minute Luna, I need to let the others know something." Mitsuru said suddenly before going to her equipment.

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"_You all need to get to the stairs quickly." Mitsuru said suddenly._

"I had a feeling." Minato said before cutting another shadow in half. "Let's get going."

The moment Minato said that, Yukari shot an arrow at another shadow.

"Right, let's go." Akiza said.

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"Wait, are you certain?" Takaya asked. "These shadows that appear during the full moon are the keys to ensuring the destruction of the dark hour?"

"Exactly, I can guarantee that our adversaries will realize that soon enough, and once they do we will need to act quickly." said the man in the red suit. "I would suggest attacking them soon."

"Hold on, we still don't know if you're right about this." Jin said. "Unless we know for sure about these shadows attacking them is too risky."

"True, I'm just giving you my information regarding those who want to oppose us." the man said calmly.

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"Yukari, it's weak to your arrows." Minato said.

The moment Minato said that, Yukari shot an arrow at the three birdlike shadows.

Just as the third shadow fell to the ground, the four members of SEES attacked them relentlessly before ultimately destroying them.

"Nice, let's keep going." Crow said.

"No way, that was tough enough, maybe we should stop for now." Minato said. "Plus that device will let us start from here whenever we need."

With those words, the four of them walked towards the glowing green device and appeared on the first floor of Tarturus.

"Are we done for today?" Yusei asked.

"Yeah, tomorrow is your turn." Minato said calmly.

"Well for the time being we should head back." Yusei said. "Even with everything that's happened we still have class tomorrow."

"Why did you have to remind me of that?" Junpei asked. "I mean can't we get a few days off for saving the world?"

"Honestly Stupei, nobody knows about the dark hour." Yukari said. "Besides you didn't even go into Tarturus tonight."

"Even if he did go into Tarturus we can't allow our academics to suffer." Mitsuru said.

With those words the members of SEES returned to the dorm.

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"Akiza, what's wrong?" Yusei asked suddenly.

"When we were leaving Tarturus, I thought I saw something." Akiza said nervously. "But there's no way it was really that."

"What did you see Akiza?" Yusei asked.

"It was a card I've only seen once, but during the dark hour it could only be one thing, I think Sayer is here." Akiza said nervously.

"Sayer, shouldn't he be back in New Domino City?" Yusei asked. "Well that doesn't matter, we're going to make sure you're alright Akiza."

With those words Yusei wrapped his arms around Akiza reassuringly.

"Thanks Yusei, that means a lot." Akiza said quietly.

"It's the truth Akiza, if Sayer's here we'll protect you." Yusei said.

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"Devack lost, that's unfortunate." said a woman in a robe with green markings.

"It was his own fault, he underestimated the signer girl." said a young man in a robe with blue markings. "As long as I send Yusei to the Netherworld everything will work out fine."

"If you say so, still it's better to be safe than sorry." said a muscular man in a robe with purple markings. "Speaking of which where's Roman?"

"He had some personal business to take care of, apparently Uru told him the identity of our last ally." The woman said calmly.

"So Rasca finally decided did he?" the first man said. "About time."

"Well they should be here soon." said another girl in a robe with orange markings. "I'm certain you won't expect the seventh and final dark signer."

With those words two figures appeared in the darkness.

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"Man, I can't believe we still have class." Junpei said in defeat. "Well at least I can sleep."

"You really shouldn't sleep in class, that's a surefire way to get called on." Crow said.

"Now then, who should I ask." asked miss Toriumi. "I know, Junpei Iori."

"Told you." Crow whispered.

"Well Junpei, who did I just say was my favorite author?" miss Toriumi asked.

"Oh, yeah it was um…" Junpei said nervously while glancing around the room.

"You said Utsoba Kubota." Yusei said suddenly.

"Correct, I'm glad to know someone was listening to me." miss Toriumi said calmly.

"You could have just told me the answer." Junpei whispered.

"Just make sure you pay attention next time." Yukari whispered. "Honestly stupei."

(Each of the three groups are preparing for the rest of the year, SEES have gotten to the first guardian of Tarturus, the seventh dark signer has appeared, and Takaya's group has learned of the full moon shadows. Next chapter Minato will form another social link, and the signers will learn of Sayer's presence on Tatsumi Port Island. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)


	16. Chapter 16

"Oh man, I'm glad that's over." Junpei said.

"Yeah, but we've got a lot more to do now." Jack said. "Don't forget that the two of us need to head in tonight."

"That's right, it's you, me, Yusei, and Luna right?" Junpei asked.

"Yeah, but there's something I need to take a look into today, I'll see you guys later." Yusei said.

"What's going on with him?" Minato asked. "He looks nervous."

"Hold on a second, wasn't Akiza nervous about something last night?" Crow asked. "You don't think it could be that do you Jack?"

"Wait, you don't mean he's here. As if we don't have enough problems already with the dark signers and shadows." Jack said.

"What do you two mean, Akiza's strong enough to take down nearly anything, especially if she can make her cards real." Yukari said.

"She's not the only one who can do that, there's a man named Sayer who leads a group of people with the same powers. The thing is he didn't exactly respond positively to Akiza refusing to join his movement." Jack said. "If he's really here things are going to be much more dangerous."

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"Akiza, are you sure you want to try and find him?" Yusei asked.

"I can't just pretend he doesn't exist, if I know he's here we can stop him." Akiza said while pulling a card out of her deck.

"Alright, I'm right here in case anything happens." Yusei said supportively.

The moment Yusei said that Akiza held up her card and the Black Rose Dragon flew into the sky.

"Now all we can do is wait and see what happens." Akiza said quietly.

Suddenly a second creature appeared in the sky before disappearing along with the Black Rose Dragon.

"That was Thought Ruler Archfiend." Yusei said. "He is here."

"I knew it, but if he's here who knows what could happen."Akiza said nervously.

"Don't worry, we'll take care of everything. I promise Akiza." Yusei said.

"Thank you Yusei, we should head back to the dorm and let the others know about this." Akiza said.

"I agree, we can tell them when they get back." Yusei said.

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"Arisato, I have a request to ask of you." Mitsuru said suddenly.

"Mitsuru-sempai, what is it?" Minato asked.

"I need you to join the student council, you won't have to go to every meeting but any assistance would be appreciated. " Mitsuru said calmly.

"Oh, I guess I can try to go." Minato said.

"I appreciate that, now I have to take care of something so I'll see you tonight." Mitsuru said before walking off.

"Whoa, did Mitsuru-sempai just force you to join student council, that's rough." Junpei said.

"I'm not doing it to help Mitsuru-sempai, but I might meet someone there." Minato said calmly.

"Ok, well you'll need to let someone in the faculty office know." Yukari said.

"Wait a second, what do you mean by that Minato?" Crow asked.

"It's not that Crow, I'll see you guys later." Minato said calmly.

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"Oh, Minato." miss Toriumi said calmly. "Mitsuru already let me know that you were planning on joining student council."

"I thought she would, so is that alright with you?" Minato asked calmly.

"Of course, the student council room is across from our classroom. I wish more students were willing to take initiative like you." miss Toriumi said calmly.

"Of course, thank you." Minato said calmly.

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"So you're the new member that Mitsuru recommended?" asked a boy.

"Yes, this is Minato Arisato." Mitsuru said calmly. "He'll be helping out from time to time."

"Alright, well it's good to meet you." the boy said. "You already met Mitsuru, I'm Hidetoshi Odagiri."

"Oh, I-I'm Chihiro Fushimi." said a girl with glasses.

"It's nice to meet you all." Minato said calmly.

_Thou hast formed a new bond, its power shall help guide you to your destiny, we bestow upon you a blessing when creating personas of the Emperor arcana._

I had a feeling that might happen, Minato thought.

"Well the meeting is over but you can meet up with us anytime." Hidetoshi said calmly.

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"What's going on?" Crow asked when he noticed Yusei and Akiza.

"We've got a big problem, Sayer is here." Yusei said.

"Wait, you're serious?" Jack asked.

"Yes, there's no doubt." Akiza said. "He's here and he knows we are too."

"That's not good, we have enough trouble already." Leo said nervously.

"Don't worry, we can take care of him as long as we work together." Jack said.

The moment Jack said that, Minato, Yukari, and Junpei walked into the dorm.

"What's going on, you guys look like you've seen a ghost."Junpei said.

"Worse." Crow said.

"Well there's only one way to get our minds off of that, we're going back to Tarturus." Minato said.

"Hold on, are you sure that's a good idea?" Luna asked. "I mean Mitsuru-sempai and Akihiko-sempai aren't even here."

"Well if they show up we should go, we have quite a ways to go to get to the top of Tarturus." Minato said.

"True, but we're not going to Tarturus tonight." Mitsuru said as she walked in with Akihiko.

"What do you mean?" Junpei asked.

"We have some more important matters to deal with right now." Akihiko said. "It's very possible that the lost were able to attack Rex Goodwin, he never arrived back at his mansion in New Domino City."

"Wait, are you sure?" Akiza asked.

"It's a possibility, but we need to pay attention and keep our eyes open just in case." Mitsuru said. "Plus there's something Akihiko and I need to take care of today."

"Mitsuru's right, you guys have tonight to do what you want." Akihiko said. "We'll head into Tarturus tomorrow."

With those words Akihiko and Mitsuru left the dorm.

"Well as long as we're waiting, there's one thing we can try." Jack said.

"What are you thinking Jack?" Crow asked.

"If Sayer is here, we should duel Akiza to prepare." Jack said. "The more we get used to psychic duels the easier it will be to take him down."

"Hold on, shouldn't you ask Akiza first?" Luna asked.

"Don't forget the other possibility, what if this Sayer person has the potential?" Yukari asked suddenly.

"Wait a second, if Sayer has the potential that would mean he's working with the shadows." Yusei said.

"Exactly, things have gotten a lot worse." Minato said.

(The members of SEES have learned that Sayer is on Tatsumi Port Island, and that it's possible he has the potential. Next chapter someone else will make an appearance. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)


	17. Chapter 17

"Alright Akihiko, where should he be?" Mitsuru asked calmly.

"Around now he's at Hagakure." Akihiko said. "I doubt he'll listen though. I've been trying for a while."

"That's possible, but still we at least need to tell him what's going on." Mitsuru said calmly. "It's our best choice."

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"So are you ready Akiza?" Crow asked.

"I guess so, but are you sure you want to go through with this Crow?" Akiza asked.

"It's our best chance of being able to defeat Sayer." Crow said. "Besides, worse case scenario Leo has healing skills."

"Alright, hold on to this Yusei." Akiza said as she took her limiter out of her hair.

"Be careful Crow." Yusei said.

"I'll be alright." Crow said.

"Let's duel." said Crow and Akiza simultaneously.

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"What are you two doing here?" asked a man in a jacket and a beanie.

"Shinjiro, you need to reconsider coming back to the team." Mitsuru said.

"Mitsuru I already told both of you that I'm not going back." Shinjiro said.

"I'm well aware of that, however there are a few things you need to know, there's more than just shadows in the city. I assume you saw that symbol a few days ago?" Mitsuru asked.

"You mean that purple monkey that showed up in the sky? Yeah I saw it." Shinjiro said calmly.

"Well that's one of our new enemies, and they can show up outside of the dark hour." Akihiko said.

"What are you talking about?" Shinjiro asked. "That doesn't make any sense."

"We're not the ones who should explain that, will you be here tomorrow?" Akihiko asked.

"I can make a point of meeting you guys." Shinjiro said calmly.

"Alright, tomorrow you'll be told everything." Mitsuru said calmly. "Let's head back Akihiko, I have a feeling something's going on back at the dorm."

"Yeah I have a bad feeling myself." Akihiko said as the two of them left Hagakure.

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"Black Rose Dragon, wipe out the last of Crow's life points." Akiza said confidently.

The moment Akiza said that, the Black Rose Dragon destroyed Black-Winged Dragon and sent Crow flying off the roof.

"Oh no, Crow!" Leo said.

"Black Rose Dragon, catch him." Akiza said urgently.

"Ok, remind me not to do that again." Crow said as vines pulled him back onto the roof.

"I'll admit that wasn't one of my brighter ideas." Jack said. "Still if we're going to take on Sayer we need to be prepared for his psychic powers."

Suddenly the door to the roof opened and Mitsuru and Akihiko walked up to the signers, Minato, Junpei, and Yukari.

"Who's bright idea was it to jump off the roof?" Mitsuru asked calmly.

"That's my fault, we were practicing dealing with psychic duelists and well things got a little out of hand." Jack said.

"Crow was sent flying off the roof and could have died." Akihiko said. "What could have caused that?"

"That was my fault." Akiza said.

"Here Akiza." Yusei said before handing her limiter back to her.

"Ok, so back in Tarturus when your dragon caused that huge hurricane you were wearing a limiter?" Yukari asked.

"I can only imagine what would happen without that limiter." Minato said.

"Wait, it's not even the dark hour." Akihiko said. "How much power do you have?"

"I'd rather not get into that." Akiza said. "It brings up bad memories."

"I understand, still that's quite impressive." Mitsuru said calmly.

"Either way we should get some rest, one near death experience is enough for tonight." Minato said.

"I agree with you on that Minato." Crow said.

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"Mister Sayer, I thought you were working on a private matter outside of the city." said a young woman.

"I am, of course there are other things I need to take care of." Sayer said calmly. "Did any information on that come up?"

"Actually yes, although nearly all of it is hypothetical and myths." the woman said calmly.

"If you don't mind me asking sir, what does this have to do with the Arcadia Movement's success?" asked a young man.

"That's information on a need to know basis." Sayer said calmly. "Trust me that this information is going to be put to good use."

"Of course, whatever you say sir." the young man said calmly.

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"Yusei, I've been meaning to talk with you." Junpei said. "The six of you are really close aren't you?"

"Yeah, we've been friends for a while." Yusei said.

"Still having two forces trying to attack the world must be tough for you guys, I only wish there was something we could do about these dark signer guys." Junpei said.

"Thanks Junpei, the important thing is that we work together to get to the top of Tarturus." Yusei said. "That's the best way for us to get through this."

"You've got a point, well I'll see you tomorrow bud."Junpei said with a grin.

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"Devack lost because he took your advice, why should we listen to you this time?" Roman asked.

"True Devack was defeated, however all I said was that this was where you could find the signers." Sayer said calmly. "His defeat was entirely a result of his lack of skill."

"That's true, Devack wasn't very skilled." said a young man in a cloak with blue markings. "I'll make sure to take Yusei down at the next opportunity."

"Very well, in that case at the next new moon you'll have your chance." Sayer said calmly.

"That still makes no sense, who gives you the right to decide when we duel?" asked a man in a cloak with purple markings.

"You don't believe me, why don't you check yourselves, that is one of your powers correct?" Sayer asked calmly.

"We'll see what it is that you're referring to Sayer." said a girl in a cloak with orange markings. "I activate Future Visions."

The moment she said that, a faint orange glow enveloped the dark signer before she collapsed to her knees.

"Are you alright?" asked a woman in a cloak with green markings.

"On the next full moon, a creature I can't describe, it's too dangerous. " the first woman said. "We need to avoid it at all costs."

(Mitsuru and Akihiko are planning on having the signers explain their battle to an old friend named Shinjiro, and the dark signers have learned of a strange force during the full moon. Next chapter Shinjiro will learn about the dark signers, and the second team will enter Tarturus. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)

(Author's Note: The dark signer saw the future but only a glimpse, the shadows and the netherworld cancel each other out which is why she called the shadow dangerous.)


	18. Chapter 18

"Oh Yusei, there's something I need your help with after school." Akihiko said. "There's someone who needs to know what's going on."

"Is that where you and Mitsuru-sempai went last night?"Yusei asked.

"Yeah, I'll fill you in on the details after school." Akihiko said.

"Alright, no problem." Yusei said calmly.

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"Oh good morning Chihiro." Minato said calmly.

"G-Good morning." Chihiro said quietly before walking towards her classroom.

"Did I say something wrong?" Minato asked.

"No, Chihiro is just shy, especially around boys." Mitsuru explained while walking up to Minato.

"I see, I guess that makes sense." Minato said. "Wait how do you know that?"

"Student Council." Mitsuru said calmly.

"That's true, anyway I need to get to class." Minato said calmly as he walked off.

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"Well that was fun, I can't believe how much he just ignores." Junpei said.

"Believe me, once we get to the sengoku era, he'll be spending weeks on a few months of history." Yukari said.

"Well at least until then we can sleep." Crow said before dropping to a whisper. "Our midnight adventures tire me out even when I don't climb Tarturus."

"That reminds me, I need to go see Akihiko-sempai." Yusei said. "I'll see you guys later."

"Right, see you tonight Yusei." Jack said calmly.

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"Oh there you are, come on." Akihiko said.

"Alright, I'm right behind you." Yusei said. "Oh by the way where are we going?"

"We're going to meet up with an old friend, and someone with the potential." Akihiko said calmly.

"Another persona user? That could really help us." Yusei said.

"I agree, but we can't force him to come back." Akihiko said. "In here."

"Hagakure Ramen?" Yusei asked.

"So this is the kid Aki?" asked someone from behind them.

"Yeah, Shinji meet Yusei." Akihiko said calmly. "He can explain what you saw, maybe then we can talk about you coming back to SEES."

"I already told you two that I'm not going back." Shinjiro said before turning to Yusei. "Alright so what was that purple monkey in the sky?

"That was a dark sign, it's related to this mark." Yusei said as he showed his mark.

"That's a dragon head, not bad kid." Shinjiro said calmly.

"I'm not the only one with a mark of the Crimson Dragon, there are six of us." Yusei said before explaining everything he had told SEES.

"That proves it, this island is jinxed." Shinjiro said. "First the shadows, and now these dark signers and this Sayer person."

"When you say it like that I almost agree with you." Akihiko said with a laugh.

"Still, it sounds like you guys could use some serious help."Shinjiro said.

"Yeah, does that mean you're thinking of helping us?" Akihiko asked.

"I already told you that I'm not going back, you know why." Shinjiro said. "That aside I might have a solution, just give me some time."

"Alright Shinji, thanks." Akihiko said calmly. "Let's head to the dorm Yusei, we have work tonight."

"Right." Yusei said. "It was nice to meet you Shinjiro-sempai."

With those words Yusei and Akihiko left Hagakure.

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"Welcome back, I trust you informed him of the situation?" Mitsuru asked calmly.

"Yeah, he mentioned he might have a solution." Akihiko said. "Still I wonder how that could be possible."

"We'll find out soon enough, still are we prepared for tonight's exploration?" Mitsuru asked Yusei.

"Yeah, it's going to be me, Luna, Leo, and Junpei." Yusei said.

"That sounds fine." Mitsuru said. "That device the others found last time should allow you to start from the fifth floor."

"That sounds useful, hopefully we can find more of those."Yusei said.

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"This is certainly a surprise, you don't typically come to see us." Takaya said calmly.

"That's true, but this isn't a social visit." Shinjiro said.

"I figured, so what do you want?" Jin asked suspiciously. "If you wanted our services you could have just used the website."

"That's not what I'm here for, I wanted to ask for your help." Shinjiro asked.

"Our help?" Takaya asked calmly. "Does this have anything to do with that strange mark that appeared a few days ago?"

"Yeah, apparently it's connected to some force that's trying to destroy the world." Shinjiro said. "There's way too much going on and you guys have personas."

"I don't think we'll be helping fight the shadows Shinjiro Aragaki." said a voice from behind him. "I assure you that things will work out exactly as they need to."

"Who are you supposed to be?" Shinjiro asked.

"My apologies, my name is Sayer and I am the newest member of Strega." Sayer said calmly. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Sayer, I heard about you." Shinjiro said. "Looks like I need to keep my eyes open even more than before."

With those words Shinjiro walked off.

"What was that about?" Jin asked.

"I assume he heard some kind of rumors about me." Sayer said calmly.

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"Alright, are the four of you ready to enter Tarturus?" Mitsuru asked calmly.

"Yeah, just leave it to me you guys." Junpei said confidently. "I'll be sure to take down every shadow I see."

"Don't overdo it Junpei, the idea is to get through Tarturus, not wear yourself out in one floor." Akihiko said.

"Alright, are you two ready?" Yusei asked.

"Yeah, let's go Yusei." Leo said. "The sooner we get to the top the better."

"I agree, we should at least try to get to the barrier Mitsuru-sempai mentioned." Luna said.

"Well in that case let's get going." Yusei said as the four members of SEES disappeared in a flash of green light.

"Minato, is something wrong?" Yukari asked.

"No, I was just thinking about something." Minato said before walking towards the Velvet Room.

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"Welcome to the Velvet Room, how can we assist you?" Igor asked calmly.

"It's this, I picked it up just before leaving Tarturus last time." Minato said before handing a red card to Igor.

"Interesting, this must be the unique arcana you've begun to nurture." Igor said calmly before a blue glow surrounded the card. "I have unlocked this persona's identity, is there anything else?"

"Not right now, thanks." Minato said calmly.

(The second team has entered Tarturus and Minato has acquired a new persona. Next chapter the team will get further in Tarturus. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)

(Author's Note 1: Shinjiro went to Strega asking if they could lend a hand since he knew they were active during the dark hour and that the others could use some help. He didn't offer to help himself for a personal reason.)

(Author's Note 2: Whenever Minato acquires a persona of the Crimson Arcana, it needs to be unlocked by Igor.)


	19. Chapter 19

"Interesting, so this is the floor that powerful shadow was on, well let's get going." Yusei said calmly.

With those words the four members of SEES walked to the stairs and continued to ascend Tarturus.

"Persona." Leo said suddenly. "Power Slash."

As Leo said that, the Power Tool Dragon flew towards one of the shadows on the ground and slashed at it, causing some damage before it turned around to see the four persona-users.

"Agi Hermes." Junpei said as his persona launched a precise flame at the shadow, destroying it.

The moment it was destroyed Yusei gave a slight nod and the four of them ran down the hallway the shadow was coming from.

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I wonder, just what kind of persona did I get from the crimson arcana, Minato thought. "Well only one way to find out, Persona."

The moment he pulled the trigger of his Evoker he could tell something strange was happening, instead of the shattering glass that he usually heard the sound that filled the base of Tarturus was a dragon's roar.

"Arisato, what just happened?" Mitsuru asked.

"No way, is that one of your personas?" Akiza asked in disbelief.

"You mean Regulus, the Spiritual Lion?" Minato asked. "Yeah."

"That's one of Luna's cards." Crow said.

"Maybe it has to do with your power." Yukari suggested. "You can summon multiple personas."

"Maybe, but still I wonder how strong he is." Minato said. "Well we'll find out tomorrow."

"I suppose we will, I wonder what Luna will think of this." Jack said. "It's going to be interesting."

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"Stardust Dragon, Cosmic Flare." Yusei said.

As he said that, Yusei's persona unleashed a devastating blast of energy that vaporized four shadows.

"Seriously, how strong are you guys?" Junpei asked.

"It's not our strength, it's the mark of the Crimson Dragon." Leo said before revealing his mark. "All of us get our strength from each other, that's why we can do things like that."

The moment Leo said that Luna froze.

"Are you sure Kuribon?" Luna asked.

"What's going on Luna?" Yusei asked.

"It's Minato, he somehow has Regulus as a persona." Luna said.

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Leo asked.

"We can ask when we get back, right now we need to keep going." Yusei said.

As he said that, the four of them walked up the stairs.

"_Be careful, I sense a powerful shadow on the next floor." Mitsuru said suddenly._

"Right, let's keep moving." Yusei said calmly.

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"It seems that they truly intend to climb to the top of the tower of demise, how unfortunate." Takaya said calmly. "It would appear there might in fact be some validity to your earlier claim."

"Of course, I make a point of keeping myself informed about every possible scenario, of course attacking them now would be foolish, they both outnumber us and more than likely are more powerful as well." Sayer said calmly. "Of course there may be a way to guarantee the continuation of the dark hour."

"Wait a second, Shinjiro Aragaki, mentioned his friends could use a helping hand, and based off the info I have on him he goes to the same school as these guys." Jin said suddenly. "That's what he was asking about."

"Perhaps we should formally introduce ourselves tonight." Takaya said calmly.

"In that case we should wait outside the tower, they should be leaving soon enough." Sayer said calmly. "I play the Teleport magic card."

With those words a flash of light enveloped Strega.

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"Mitsuru-sempai, there's something I wanted to ask you about." Crow said.

"What is it?" Mitsuru asked.

"Well we've been trying to climb the tower from the inside, but what if we flew up the outside?" Crow asked. "We can bring out our dragons and go up in pairs."

"That's possible, the only problem is most of us won't be strong enough if there's anything at the top of Tarturus." Mitsuru said.

"She has a point Crow, besides the climb is half the point." Jack said calmly.

"Well I guess you're right." Crow said.

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"Luna, Leo, Junpei, are you three alright?" Yusei asked.

"Yeah, we're alright Yusei." Leo said calmly.

The moment Leo said that, five shadows noticed the group and started rushing towards them.

"Power Tool Dragon, Bash." Leo said just as his dragon appeared and destroyed one of the shadows.

Suddenly a faint sound of chains rumbled across the entire floor.

"_Get to the Stairs immediately, something extremely dangerous is coming." Mitsuru said urgently._

The moment Mitsuru said that, the four members of SEES sprinted full speed past the shadows.

"This is bad, where are the stairs?" Junpei asked nervously.

"Just calm down, we'll find them." Yusei said before glancing down a side path. "There they are, come on."

"Guys, a huge shadow just spotted us and it's following us." Leo said.

"Keep going, the sooner we get to the stairs the better, shadows can't follow us from one floor to the next." Yusei said just as a bullet passed by his ear.

The moment the bullet hit the wall, the four members of SEES ran up the stairs.

"_That was far too close for comfort, I detect three shadows in the center of this floor, are you able to continue?" Mitsuru asked._

"We'll be alright, there's a teleporter so once we beat those three this should be a floor that we can just go to straight away." Yusei said.

The moment Yusei said that, three shadows shaped like hands walked up to the four members of SEES.

"Right, this won't take long at all." Junpei said before slashing one of the shadows. "That should have done something."

"Hold on, what are they doing?" Luna asked.

The moment Luna said that, the three shadows began to glow before launching bufu spells at the group.

Suddenly the Power Tool Dragon appeared and blocked the spell for Junpei.

"Be careful, who knows what these three can do." Yusei said.

"Right, sorry about that you guys." Junpei said calmly.

(Yuse, Luna, Leo, and Junpei have made it to the second guardian shadow, and are preparing to fight it. Next chapter SEES will meet Strega for the first time. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)

(Author's Note: the signers all have distinct weaknesses to certain types of attacks. Yusei is weak to darkness and pierce, Jack is weak to ice and light, Crow is weak to electricity and fire, Akiza is weak to fire and slash, Leo is weak to electricity and darkness, and Luna is weak to bash and darkness.)


	20. Chapter 20

"Any ideas Yusei?" Leo asked nervously.

"One, but I don't have any idea if it's going to work." Yusei said. "Junpei, can you get the shadows attention?"

"Leave it to me, Hermes take him down." Junpei said confidently.

"Alright, now then let's try this." Yusei said as his mark began to glow. "Leo, if this doesn't work you'll need to take him down."

"Right, I'll take care of that Yusei." Leo said with a grin.

"Junpei, get out of the way." Yusei said quickly.

The moment Yusei said that, Junpei jumped backwards and the Stardust Dragon fired a massive beam at the shadows.

"No good, that wasn't enough." Luna said nervously.

As if to emphasize her point, the moment the explosion from the beam disappeared the shadows emerged from the smoke.

"Hold on, they're injured." Leo said. "One more hit should take them down, Power Tool Dragon Bash."

As soon as his dragon struck the shadow it disappeared before the other two met similar deaths.

"Right, that's enough for now, let's get going." Yusei said just before the four of them activated the second teleporter.

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"Welcome back, we're rapidly approaching the barrier I mentioned." Mitsuru said calmly.

"Well that's enough adventuring for one night, let's head back." Akiza said as the members of SEES exited Tarturus.

"What the, who are you supposed to be?" Crow asked the man outside of Tarturus.

"Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Takaya." Takaya said politely. "It would seem we have the same power, and so I feel it's only polite to introduce myself and my acquaintances."

"Acquaintances, you're the only one here." Jack said.

"You clearly don't know how to count, we're right here." Jin said while walking up with Chidori.

"I see, so you three have the potential?" Mitsuru asked.

"Not just them, I'm the newest member of Strega." said a man in a dark red suit. "Of course you know who I am don't you?"

"Sayer, why am I not surprised you're involved?" Yusei asked.

"You misunderstand, I'm in the same boat that you're in."Sayer said calmly. "Perhaps a demonstration will work, Persona."

With those words the Thought Ruler Archfiend appeared behind Sayer.

"Great, as if you weren't powerful enough." Crow said angrily.

"I have this power, but like you I need people to assist me in understanding it's nature." Sayer said calmly.

"That's a lie, you would never willingly work with someone else." Akiza said quickly. "There's something else that you're planning."

"Quick as always, the movement would have been lucky to have you Akiza." Sayer said with a chuckle. "I've been doing some minor research into why the persona we have are so closely linked to ancient greek myths and legends, of course nothing that I've found has been of any use."

"That's enough for now, all that's left is to ask you a simple question." Takaya said calmly. "Do you truly wish to destroy the dark hour?"

"Of course, if we can stop the dark hour we can stop the shadows too." Yukari said. "That's the whole reason we're fighting."

"I see, perhaps for our next meeting you'll have learned to see things from our perspective." Takaya said calmly before Strega disappeared in a flash of light.

"I have a feeling Akihiko's going to want to hear about this." Crow said thoughtfully.

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"Another group of persona users?" Akihiko asked. "Well this might be fun after all."

"You don't understand, Sayer's the most dangerous person you've ever encountered." Akiza said. "Next to a Sayer a shadow is as small as a mouse."

"You acted as though you knew him, who is Sayer?" Minato asked.

"He's a psychic duelist like Akiza, in fact he might even be stronger than her." Crow said.

"No, he's not stronger than me, but he's strong enough to destroy the entire city if he wanted to." Akiza said. "He gave me this limiter to try and convince me to join him, with it he's stronger than I am, and without it I'm stronger."

"Well in that case if he shows up you should just take it off." Junpei said. "That should take him down easily."

"I can't control my powers yet, that's why I have the limiter." Akiza said.

"Well either way we should rest up for now, we can worry about the others persona users later." Minato said.

"Agreed, let's get some rest." Mitsuru said calmly.

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"_Chidori Yoshino, I trust you can hear me?" asked a faint voice._

"You again, what do you want now?" Chidori asked irritably.

"_You should know that I only speak with you because I feel you have the potential to do more than you know." the voice said again._

"No, what you want is for me to just sit and let you tell me what to do." Chidori said coldly.

"_Chidori, we both know that there's more to you than you're willing to admit." the voice said. "I can't force you to assist me however I only ask you willingly listen to my suggestion."_

"Fine, I'll listen for now." Chidori said. "What do you want me to do?"

"_That girl, the young one with green hair." the voice said calmly. "You just need to tell her that you are aware of my existence, no more and no less."_

"Fine, I'll do it." Chidori said calmly.

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"Morning Yusei, you ready for our day off?" Crow asked.

"Actually I think I'm going to spend some time with Akiza." Yusei said honestly.

"Why am I not surprised, well Jack and I are planning on going to the shrine for a while, I could use some good luck." Crow said.

"Right, see you later Crow." Yusei said calmly as Crow and Jack left the dorm.

"Oh Yusei, I've been meaning to ask you something." Yukari said as she walked into the room.

"What's on your mind Yukari?" Yusei asked.

"Well, it's Luna." Yukari said. "She's disappeared, I tried talking to Leo but he's still asleep."

"Don't worry, everything's fine." Yusei said. "She just went to the Spirit World."

"Spirit World?" Yukari asked. "Is that anything like the dark hour?"

"No, I think you should talk to Luna about it when she gets back." Yusei said calmly.

(SEES and Strega have met for the first time, and a mysterious entity has made a request of Chidori. Next chapter Minato will start to prepare another social link, strengthen another one, and Chidori will fulfill her agreement. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)


	21. Chapter 21

"Good morning Yukari, Yusei." Minato said while walking downstairs.

"Morning Minato." Yukari said with a smile.

"Morning." Yusei said.

"Oh are you busy today?" Yukari asked.

"I don't think so, what's up?" Minato asked.

"Well, I thought we could hang out today." Yukari said. "Do you mind?"

Lovers, why not plus she's nice enough, Minato thought. "Sure, after you." (1)

"Alright, thanks." Yukari said as the two of them left the dorm.

"Yusei, are you ready?" Akiza asked.

"Yeah, I checked and everything should be perfect." Yusei said.

"Great, well shall we go?" Akiza asked.

"After you Akiza." Yusei said with a smile.

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"That's definitely unusual, someone else's soul has bonded to Regulus?" the Ancient Fairy Dragon asked.

"Yes, it's the same power I told you about before." Luna said. "Do you know anything about it?"

"I'm not sure, I've never heard of something like that before." the Ancient Fairy Dragon said. "I'll see if Torunka knows anything, for now though you should return to your world. I'll let you know if anything comes up."

"Alright, thanks Ancient Fairy Dragon." Luna said with a smile before disappearing in a flash of light.

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"Welcome back Luna." Leo said calmly.

"The Ancient Fairy Dragon didn't know why Regulus was one of Minato's personas, but she's going to talk to Torunka." Luna said.

"I hope they can figure out what's going on. Oh yeah I almost forgot, a lot of the others left." Leo said.

"That makes sense, who's still here?" Luna asked.

"You, me, Junpei, Mitsuru-sempai, and Akihiko-sempai." Leo said just before the doorbell rang.

"Were we expecting a guest?" Luna asked.

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"Do you want to check out the new bookstore?" Yukari asked.

"Why not, there might be something interesting." Minato said calmly. "Oh have things gotten any better with your mother?"

"Not at all, she's being just as stubborn as ever." Yukari said angrily.

"Sorry to hear that, do you want to talk about it?" Minato asked.

"No, besides there's time to talk about that later." Yukari said. "I need to take care of this myself anyway."

"Yukari, you said that you were on my side about my parents." Minato said calmly. "I just wanted to let you know I'm on yours."

_Thou hast brought out new levels of power. The strength to overcome the coming trials has manifested. Your power to create personas of the Lovers arcana has increased._

"Thanks, oh that must be the new store." Yukari said. "Shall we?"

"Sure, that sounds good." Minato said calmly.

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"Let me get this straight, you're coming to talk to Luna about something only she can understand, and you're giving me your evoker until you leave?" Mitsuru asked while looking at the extended gun.

"Yes, alright?" Chidori asked calmly.

"Very well, I'll hold on to this for you." Mitsuru said calmly.

"What did you want to tell me?" Luna asked.

"There's been an unusual creature trying to get in touch with me, and it seems to know you." Chidori said calmly.

"Wait, what kind of creature?" Luna asked suddenly.

"I'm not certain it's only been a voice in my head, but it's not my persona." Chidori said calmly.

"Luna, do you think it could be that?" Leo asked.

"It's possible, there's only one way to find out." Luna said before turning to Chidori. "Could you tell us about that voice?"

"It's a mysterious voice, there's not much to say." Chidori said.

"Mitsuru-sempai, can you trust me?" Luna asked.

"Luna, what are you planning?" Akihiko asked.

"I have a feeling I know what that voice is, but I need to check to be sure." Luna said before turning to Chidori. "Can you trust me?"

"_Chidori, it's time we finally meet." the voice said calmly._

"Alright, I'll trust you for now." Chidori said. (2)

The moment Chidori said that, a flash of light enveloped the room and when it faded she had disappeared along with Luna.

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"Wow this is amazing." Akiza said calmly.

"Yeah, I had a feeling you would think that." Yusei said calmly. "This bridge gives a great view of the city."

"I agree, although it's hard to believe that this is where the accident occurred ten years ago." Akiza said.

"I agree, but I'm sure we'll be able to save the city and make sure nothing like this happens again." Yusei said calmly.

"Right, thanks Yusei." Akiza said with a small smile.

"It's always a good thing to see you smile." Yusei said.

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"Oh, hello there." said an old lady. "Are you two here for a book?"

"Thanks but we're just browsing for now, we have the day off from school." Yukari said.

"Oh, have you two seen the persimmon tree?" asked an old man who walked up from the back.

"Persimmon tree?" Minato asked.

"Yes, it's a tree that was planted in the courtyard for our son, he's a former teacher." the woman said thoughtfully.

"Oh, I'll have to look for it tomorrow." Minato said. "I'll let you know if I see it."

"That's kind of you, my name is Mitsuko." the woman said.

"I'm Bunkichi, stop by when you guys get the chance." the man said with a smile.

"Of course, it was nice to meet you two." Minato said calmly.

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"What in the world, where are we?" Chidori asked nervously.

"Don't worry, my friends are here." Luna said with a smile.

"Luna, who's this?" Regulus asked while walking out of the forest.

"A talking lion, this must be a dream." Chidori said.

"It's no dream, this is the duel monster's Spirit World."Regulus said. "Luna, why did you bring her here?"

"She brought her here to meet me." said a voice from above the group.

"That voice, it can't be." Chidori said before looking up to see an angelic creature with dark wings and a blue face.

"Hello Chidori, I am Marie, the Fallen One. I've been looking forward to meeting you face to face like this for some time." Marie said calmly.

(The members of SEES have all found ways to enjoy their day off, and Chidori has entered the Spirit World with Luna. Next chapter Chidori's connection to Marie, the Fallen One will be explained. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)

(1) (Minato is not implying a romantic relationship with Yukari; at the moment he doesn't have any thoughts of dating someone. He was referring to her arcana, and the fact that she was a good friend in SEES.)

(2) (Chidori doesn't trust Luna about personas, but is willing to acknowledge she knows more about the strange voice and so trusts her in that regard.)


	22. Chapter 22

"I knew it, you're connected to a duel spirit." Luna said calmly.

"Duel spirit, what are you talking about?" Chidori asked.

"Perhaps I should explain, although it's a bit more complicated than you think." Marie said. "You recall the day everything began, the day you met that person?"

"How could I forget, but what does that have to do with this?" Chidori asked.

"Everything, it was because of that event that we met." Marie said calmly. "Your soul was damaged in the procedure, in order for you to survive I lent my strength to you. That's part of the reason you have that power."

"Wait, what power are you talking about?" Chidori asked quickly.

"Your special power, you know what I mean." Marie said calmly.

"Wait, that power is yours?" Chidori asked.

"Exactly, of course it works differently for you than it does for me." Marie said calmly. "Still, you should head back to your world. We can still communicate but you have friends to return to don't you?"

"Friends, more like partners." Chidori said. "Anyway you're right, but how do we get back?"

"I can get us back to the dorm." Luna said. "Thank you for everything."

"It was a pleasure, I'm glad I got to meet Chidori in person." Marie said just before a flash of light enveloped Luna and Chidori.

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"What the, why is a member of Strega here?" Crow asked.

"It's alright, she was just here to talk." Luna said. "You can come back anytime."

"That's fine, I learned more than enough today." Chidori said before turning to Mitsuru. "Do you still have my evoker?"

"Yes, to be honest I was unsure if I should trust you." Mitsuru said. "Though my doubts were misplaced, as Luna said if you decide to come back you're more than welcome."

The moment she said that, Mitsuru handed Chidori her evoker.

"We'll see, still thank you for your time." Chidori said leaving the dorm.

"Alright, now can someone please explain to me what's going on around here?" Crow asked.

"She's kind of like me." Luna said simply.

"Wait, are you talking about that?" Akiza asked. "How is that even possible?"

"I think we should let Chidori explain that herself when she chooses to." Mitsuru said. "For now we should focus on exploring Tarturus."

"Agreed, so who's on the exploration team this time?" Jack asked.

"You, me, Crow, and Akiza." Minato said. "Sorry Junpei but you'll be going next time."

"That's cool, I'll chat with Mitsuru-sempai and Akihiko-sempai." Junpei said.

"That's fine, still I feel bad for whatever boss shadow is on the receiving end of Akiza's full power." Leo said.

"That's true, if your powers are amplified during the dark hour and you remove that limiter, you should be able to destroy shadows with ease." Akihiko said.

"Maybe, but you all will be in danger." Akiza said. "It's too dangerous."

"That's true, still even limited your power is impressive." Akihiko said.

"That's enough, midnight is still a few hours away." Mitsuru said calmly. "We can worry about Izinski once we get to Tarturus."

"Thanks Mitsuru-sempai." Akiza said.

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"What were you doing all day?" Jin asked when Chidori walked up to the other members of Strega.

"That's none of your business, do we have any jobs?" Chidori asked calmly.

"Nothing for now, although it seems that whatever you did today has strengthened you somehow." Sayer said. "That's definitely going to be helpful for us."

"That's true, I assume you'll be returning to your usual activities Chidori?" Takaya asked.

"Not tonight, I have some things to think about." Chidori said calmly walking into her room.

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"Oh, Yusei is something wrong?" Luna asked.

"No, I just wanted to ask you something." Yusei said. "Our cards are creating physical monsters during the dark hour, do the spirits know anything about that?"

"I don't know, I can't go to the spirit world during the dark hour." Luna said.

"I had a feeling, well the important thing right now is to make sure we get to the top of Tarturus." Yusei said.

"You're right, we need to help out however we can." Luna said.

"See you later Luna." Yusei said calmly before leaving the room.

"Do you think the dark hour connects our world to the Spirit World?" Leo asked.

"Maybe, the only way to find out would be to go to the Spirit World before the dark hour." Luna said.

"Wouldn't that be dangerous?" Leo asked. "I mean we don't even know what could happen to you."

"I know Leo, but it's the only way to find out for sure." Luna said.

"That's not true, there is one other option." Mitsuru said while walking into the room. "If the dark hour does connect our world to the Spirit World you mentioned you should be able to summon your persona there."

"That won't work, the Ancient Fairy Dragon is already in the Spirit World." Luna said.

"I assume the same applies to all of your personas as well?" Mitsuru asked.

"Essentially, they aren't constantly there but they could go to the Spirit World relatively easily." Leo said. (1)

"I see, in that case we'll test that tomorrow." Mitsuru said calmly.

"Mitsuru-sempai, shouldn't we head to Tarturus?" Yukari asked.

"You're right, let's move out." Mitsuru said walking out of the room.

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"It's about time, I've been waiting to get some practice in." Jack said confidently.

"Don't underestimate them Jack, the shadows have been getting stronger every floor." Yusei said.

"He's right, but we that's why we're going as a team, to make sure we get through it." Minato said. "Now then, we're going up."

"That sounds like a plan, let's go." Crow said as the four members of SEES disappeared in a flash of green light.

"Yusei, do you think it was a good idea to have Jack and Crow go together?" Luna asked.

"Don't worry, they fight a lot but those two work together better than most people. They can take care of each other." Yusei said. "It's going to be fine."

"If you say so Yusei." Luna said thoughtfully.

(The members of SEES are continuing to get realize things about the dark hour, and now are preparing to explore farther into Tarturus. Next chapter they will reach the first barrier. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)

(1) (Duel Spirits can most likely travel to the Spirit World, and the connection between the signer dragons should make it even simpler for them. That's what Leo meant.)


	23. Chapter 23

"Mitsuru-sempai, do you have any idea how much farther it is until we reach the barrier?" Jack asked.

"_I'm not entirely sure, but it should be close to where you are now." Mitsuru said. "Still be careful, I sense a powerful shadow a few floors above you."_

"That's fine, we're getting to the barrier tonight." Minato said calmly.

"That sounds like a plan." Crow said confidently. "Let's go."

The moment Crow said that, the four members of SEES walked up the stairs to the 11th floor of Tarturus.

"Red Dragon Archfiend, Maragi." Jack said just as a group of shadows noticed the group.

"Jack Frost, Bufula." Minato said quickly.

The moment the flames and ice hit the shadows they disappeared.

"This seems almost to easy." Akiza said. "It's as if the shadows are trying to make us lower our guard."

"Well I have some good news, the stairs are right here." Jack said. "Let's keep going."

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"Hold on Luna, you're talking about bringing Mitsuru-sempai to the Spirit World." Yusei said.

"No, that's actually a good idea." Mitsuru said. "Assuming the dark hour connects this Spirit World to our world it should be possible for me to summon my persona there."

"I get it, so if you can summon your persona there it means we'll know more about the dark hour." Akihiko said. "It actually makes sense."

"I guess, but we don't know if it's even possible." Yukari said.

"That's true, but if there is a connection it's important we find out as soon as possible." Mitsuru said calmly.

"Don't worry Yukari, everything will be fine." Akihiko said. "Besides if anything happens it's going to be an execution."

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"Alright, time to try something." Minato said. "Regulus."

The moment he said that, the white lion appeared behind Minato.

"Well let's see what he can do." Jack said calmly.

"Regulus, Hamaon." Minato said. (1)

"Impressive, this is almost too easy." Jack said. "I doubt anything will be a problem for us."

"Don't forget Jack, we don't know what's past that barrier."Akiza said. "The shadows could get a lot stronger."

"Well right now we should get to the barrier." Crow said. "Anybody else want to use the stairs?"

"_Be careful, there's a powerful shadow two floors above you." Mitsuru said suddenly._

"Make that one floor, we're about to climb the stairs." Jack said.

"_I see, still be on your guard." Mitsuru said calmly._

"Right, let's keep moving." Minato said.

The moment the four of them arrived on the 13th floor, a massive group of shadows started launching elemental attacks at them.

"Great, the stairs are right there." Crow said. "Anybody have a way to get past that army of shadows?"

"I have an idea, Akiza do you think you can handle them?" Minato asked.

"Wait, are you talking about her powers?" Jack asked.

"Exactly, this is our best chance to take them out." Minato said. "Besides, at this point we need to move quickly, the dark hour is going to end relatively soon."

"He's right, we've been here for a while." Akiza said. "The sooner we take down those shadows the better."

"Right, I'll hold onto that for you for now." Minato said calmly as Akiza handed him her limiter.

"Black Rose Dragon." Akiza said as her dragon appeared behind her. "Black Rose Gale."

The moment she said that, a massive hurricane shot throughout the entire floor.

"Jack, remind me to never get on her bad side." Crow said nervously.

"Yeah, no problem Crow." Jack said in awe.

"That was impressive Akiza." Minato said while returning her limiter.

"Right, let's keep going." Akiza said calmly.

"_There's a powerful shadow in the center of this floor, be careful." Mitsuru said suddenly._

"Right, in that case let's be careful." Crow said. "Any ideas?"

"Well first off we should see what we're up against." Minato said before a shadow shaped like a robot with four legs and spikes for arms appeared in front of them. "Alright, well that answers that."

"Any suggestions Minato?" Jack asked.

"Let's see how it likes fire, Orpheus Agi." Minato said.

As the flames hit the shadow, it just moved forward barely damaged at all.

"Well that answers that." Minato said.

"It's my turn, come forth Red Dragon Archfiend." Jack said confidently just before his dragon began to glow. "Of course, Absolute Power Force."

With those words the Red Dragon Archfiend's hand enveloped in flames before slamming through the shadow, destroying it completely. (2)

"Alright, now to activate the teleporter and get to the barrier." Minato said calmly.

"Hey what's this thing, it was in a chest near the stairs." Crow said before tossing a glowing bottle to Minato.

"I'm not sure, but it might be useful." Minato said. "I'll hold on to it for now."

As he put the bottle in his pocket, Minato noticed another red card on the ground.

I wonder what this one is, he thought before pocketing the card.

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"Chidori, we have a request for this evening." Takaya said calmly. "Are you ready?"

"Of course, you're the only one who ever pulls the trigger."Chidori said calmly.

"There's not going to be any need for a gun this time, I'll be handling it this time." Sayer said calmly.

As soon as he said that, Sayer pulled out a single card and the four members of Strega vanished in a flash of light.

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"That's it, we can't possibly go any farther." Minato said. "Well all that's here is another teleporter and a chest."

"Well let's just check what's inside the chest." Akiza said before opening the chest. "It's a piece of paper."

"Well we can show the others tomorrow." Minato said calmly. "Let's get back to the dorm."

"Yeah, I don't know about you guys but I could use a few hours of sleep." Crow said.

"I agree, that sounds ideal." Jack said. "Still, now we need to figure out how to get past this barrier."

"Let's just save that for another day Jack." Akiza said calmly.

(SEES have arrived at the first barrier of Tarturus, and Strega is continuing its activities. Next chapter Minato will acquire a new persona. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)

(1) (Personas of the Crimson arcana have different skills depending on which signer they are associated with, light for Luna, dark for Crow, fire for Jack, wind forAkiza, ice for Yusei, and electricity for Leo.)

(2) (The shadows on the first block are weak, and can be destroyed easily when the signer's combine their powers. The shadows will get more resilient in the second block and beyond.)


	24. Chapter 24

"Welcome back, congratulations everyone." Mitsuru said. "We've gotten as far as we can for now."

"That's true, but there's definitely stairs behind that barrier." Jack said. "There's more to this place than that."

"That's true, but we can't worry about that now the dark hour is almost over." Yukari said before noticing Minato holding a red card. "Minato, what's that?"

"I'm not sure, let me take a look." Minato said just before walking into the Velvet Room.

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"Welcome to the Velvet Room, now then, how can I assist you?" Igor asked calmly.

"Actually, I wanted to ask a out this card." Minato said handing the second red card to Igor.

"I see, well then let's reveal this persona shall we?" Igor asked calmly before the card began to glow. "I see, well this is quite interesting."

"I've never seen two different persona share an arcana but have such distinct strengths." Elizabeth said calmly.

"Here you are, is there anything else?" Igor asked calmly.

"Not today, thanks though." Minato said before leaving the Velvet Room.

"Something seems strange about this new arcana, I'm sure it's completely natural." Igor said thoughtfully.

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"Minato are you ok?" Junpei asked.

"I'm good, actually before the dark hour ends I want to try something." Minto said as he put his evoker to his head. "Persona."

The moment he said that, a creature appeared behind him that looked like a rose combined with an octopus.

"Rose Tentacles?" Akiza asked in shock.

"It must be the same reason he could summon Regulus."Yusei said. "I wonder, if it has to do with his power."

"Basically, let's head back for now." Minato said calmly.

"I agree, besides the dark hour is almost over." Yusei said calmly.

"In that case we'll head back to the dorm." Mitsuru said calmly.

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"It seems that your powers are as impressive as you claimed." Takaya said simply. "Still there is something that concerns me, you clearly know more about these events than you're letting on."

"Very perceptive of you, I do know a few things about these events." Sayer said calmly. "Of course that doesn't mean I know why these events are occurring as they are."

"You're lying to us, what do you know?" Jin asked. "Ever since that monkey appeared you've been acting suspicious."

"Suspicious, what do you mean Jin?" Sayer asked calmly.

"You know exactly what I mean, so out with it." Jin said. "What are you hiding?"

"I promise all three of you, if I learn anything you'll be the first to know." Sayer said calmly.

"Enough, that's not important right now." Takaya said. "We must be diligent, assuming your information is accurate in three days on the full moon we need to keep our eyes on them."

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"Oh, good morning Jack." Minato said calmly.

"Morning Minato." Jack said just before a white flash enveloped the room.

"Well that certainly was a once in a lifetime experience." Mitsuru said. "So this is something you do commonly?"

"Not commonly, but if I want to check on the spirits I can go there." Luna said calmly.

"Well, did it work Luna?" Jack asked.

"It kind of worked, but it was weird." Luna said.

"I was able to summon my persona, but it felt different than it does during the dark hour. If there is a connection it's definitely different." Mitsuru said calmly.

"Well it's about time to head to school." Jack said. "This should be interesting."

"Right, let's go." Minato said.

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"Excuse me, I'm sorry but can I ask you something Akiza?" asked a girl who sat in front of her.

"Oh, no problem Fuuka." Akiza said. "What is it?"

"I wasn't in class yesterday and was wondering if I could check your notes during lunch. Is that alright?" Fuuka asked.

"No problem." Akiza said calmly.

"Thanks." Fuuka said.

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"Minato, I've been meaning to ask if you've joined any of the sports teams." asked miss Toriumi.

"Oh no, I haven't joined any groups yet." Minato said.

"I see, well I would recommend you join one of them sports teams today." miss Toriumi said calmly.

"Alright, I guess I'll join the track team." Minato said.

"Alright, I'll let them know you'll be stopping by after school." miss Toriumi said calmly.

"Wait, what about the rest of us?" Jack asked.

"Oh I'm already in the archery club." Yukari said. "As for you guys, Mitsuru-sempai told me she took care of that."

"She did, apparently Yusei Fudo, Jack Atlas, and Crow Hogan. The three of you are all in a new club that she personally established." miss Toriumi said calmly. "Now with that settled I have things to take care of."

"Wait, do you mind if I ask what kind of club she mentioned?" Crow asked.

"She didn't specify, but I was told it was a unique club that had four members including you three." miss Toriumi said before walking out of the classroom.

"What do you think she was talking about?" Junpei asked.

"Four members, and the three of us are in the club." Yusei said. "It must be a dueling club."

"Probably, I wonder if Akiza knows about the club." Jack said.

"I bet Mitsuru-sempai told her, anyway we need to head to our clubs Minato." Yukari said calmly.

"Right, see you guys back at the dorm." Minato said.

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"Hello, I'm the new member of the track team, Minato Arisato." Minato said calmly.

"Nice to meet you, I'm the team manager Yuko Nishiwaki" said a girl with a clipboard. "It's your first day so you can just watch. Kaz why don't you say hello to your new teammate."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Kazushi Miyamoto, but you can call me Kaz. Glad to hear you're joining the team." Kaz said.

"Thanks, I'll do my best." Minato said.

"That's all you need to do, just have a good time." Yuko said calmly.

_Thou hast formed a new bond, its power shall help guide you to your destiny, we bestow upon you a blessing when creating personas of the Chariot arcana._

_Thou hast formed a new bond, its power shall help guide you to your destiny, we bestow upon you a blessing when creating personas of the Strength arcana._

Two at the same time, this is getting easy, Minato thought, oh yeah I should ask about that tree after this.

(Minato is continuing to form social links and for the time being SEES have reached the end of Tarturus, however Strega is continuing to prepare for them. Next chapter the dark signers will meet Strega. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)


	25. Chapter 25

"Nice Kaz, that was one of your best times so far." Yuko said encouragingly.

"You're good, I hope I can do that well." Minato said.

"Don't worry, I'll give you some help Minato." Kaz said getting out of the water.

"Oh yeah, I wanted to ask you two something." Minato said. "I was at the bookstore the other day and they mentioned a persimmon tree."

"Oh, did you want to see it?" Kaz asked. "We can stop by after I get changed."

"Yeah, it's an old tree but it's been here for years." Yuko said calmly.

"Thanks, I've been meaning to take a look after hearing about it." Minato said calmly.

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"Something seems off, I would have expected Sayer to have returned by now." Roman said calmly.

"I agree brother, perhaps we should pay him a visit." Goodwin said before the six dark signers disappeared.

"You know, why didn't you mention this little trick earlier?" Kalin asked.

"It's much more difficult than you think, it requires quite a bit of energy and only Rex and I can achieve this feat." Roman said. "Still, we should be arriving at his location soon enough."

"Good, maybe he knows what that creature I saw was." Carly said thoughtfully.

"We'll find out soon enough." Roman said as the six of them appeared in front of an old building. "This seems rather quaint."

"Well, no time like the present." Misty said before walking up and knocking on the front door only for it to slowly open. "Ok, well let's go."

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"Well, this is it." Yuko said calmly. "It's not too impressive but everybody knows about it, still I wonder why the owners of a bookstore would mention it."

"I'll ask them about it tomorrow." Minato said while picking up a leaf from the tree. "See you guys later."

"See you Minato." Kaz said with a smile.

"Oh Minato, did the swim team just finish it's meeting?" Yukari asked.

"Yeah, I was about to head back to the dorm." Minato said.

"That works out great, the archery club just ended so we can head back together." Yukari said.

"Sure, that sounds like a plan." Minato said calmly.

"Cool, let's go." Yukari said with a smile.

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"Who are you guys supposed to be?" Jin asked.

"My apologies, I was under the impression a man named Sayer was here." Roman said calmly.

"Sayer, you know him?" Jin asked. "Come with me."

"Thank you, we've discussed certain matters in the past and I would like to get his input on something." Rex said calmly as the seven of them entered a large room.

"Jin, who are these people?" Takaya asked.

"Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Roman Goodwin." Roman said. "My associates and I wanted to discuss a matter with Sayer, we were informed he could be found here."

"I see, it seems that we have several things to discuss." Takaya said calmly just before Chidori and Sayer entered the room.

"What are you all doing here?" Sayer asked calmly. "Wait is this about our prior arrangements?"

"I'm glad you remember, now then would you mind explaining why you haven't informed us about the signers at all." Goodwin asked.

"Signers, what are you talking about?" Jin asked. "Wait, do you have something to do with that giant monkey that showed up?"

"You're talking about Devack, and his Earthbound Immortal." Roman said. "The six of us possess creatures just as powerful as his."

"Those creatures are strong, but there are creatures far stronger than them." Takaya said calmly.

"Wait, what kind of creatures are you talking about?" Carly asked nervously.

"A creature that only emerges during a time you can't possibly comprehend, a time where the very nature of the world changes." Takaya said.

"Takaya, perhaps a demonstration would suffice." Sayer said calmly. "I should be able to call him now using my natural powers."

"That should suffice, still I can't help but notice an unusual aura around all of you." Takaya said.

"You must mean the power of the netherworld." Kalin said. "It's the power that will let us destroy the signers."

"Who are the signers?" Chidori asked.

"The signers are those marked by the Crimson Dragon, and once we destroy them, well you'll know when they fall." Misty said calmly.

"Persona." Sayer said suddenly as a ghostly silhouette appeared behind him.

The moment he said that Carly froze in fear.

"Carly, what's wrong?" Misty asked.

"It's the same power that the signers had, those creatures are opposed to ours." Carly said nervously.

"Carly, perhaps you should show us exactly what you saw." Goodwin said. "Things have clearly escalated much faster than we expected."

"You're right, I play the field spell Future Visions." Carly said before a flash of light enveloped everyone in the room.

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"Welcome back, are you two alright?" Leo asked.

"Yeah, our clubs ended at the same time so we decided to head back together." Yukari said calmly.

"Oh yeah, what are we going to do about Tarturus?" Leo asked. "We've gotten as high as we can."

"That's true, still it's up to Yusei what we do today." Minato said. "Actually wait, where's everyone else?"

"Mitsuru-sempai and Akihiko-sempai had to take care of something, and the others went out for today." Luna said while walking downstairs.

"That makes sense, I guess we won't be going to Tarturus tonight." Minato said calmly. "In that case I'm going to turn in for tonight."

"Alright, night Minato." Leo said.

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"What in the world was that?" Kalin asked. "I don't know if I should be terrified or excited."

"That creature must be destroyed by any means necessary, if it continues to exist even the Netherworld will fall." Roman said nervously.

"You misunderstand, that creature is evidence that our power exists." Takaya said. "If you wish to see it destroyed we must oppose each other."

"Is that so, well in that case I'll give you one warning." Goodwin said calmly. "You don't have any idea what powers you're opposing."

With those words the dark signers vanished in a purple flash.

(The dark signers have met Strega and the two groups have ultimately decided to oppose each other. Next chapter Minato will form another social link, and a new face will appear. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)

(Author's Note: the dark signers are not working with SEES, there are three separate groups that all oppose each other, if they ever all met there wouldn't be any two groups teaming up against the third.)


	26. Chapter 26

"Hello, how have you been doing?" asked a young boy in a striped shirt.

"Fine, is something wrong?" Minato asked cautiously.

"Everything is fine, of course of course I wanted to tell you that you'll have to face a trial soon, I think two days from now." the boy said.

"I see, well thanks for the warning." Minato said.

"You're welcome, well farewell for now." the boy said disappearing.

"Ok, that was unusual." Minato said before going back to bed.

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"Man, that class was almost as dull as the last one." Jumpei said. "Still, what are you guys going to do?"

"I'm going to go to the bookstore Yukari and I went to." Minato said. "I thought I could bring them one of the leaves from the tree."

"Alright, see you Minato." Yukari said calmly.

"What's on your mind Yusei?" Crow asked.

"What are they up to, one of the dark signers attacked nearly two weeks ago and since then we haven't heard a thing." Yusei said. "Something about that is bothering me."

"You have a point, do you think something's going on back at New Domino?" Crow asked.

"There's one way to find out, we just need to ask her about it." Jack said.

"That's true, but didn't she say that Goodwin keeps her busy most of the time?" Yusei asked.

"True, but it's worth a try." Jack said. "Alright, now then Mina what's going on in New Domino City?" (1)

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"Hello, Bunkichi, Mitsuko?" Minato asked.

"Oh hello Minato." Mitsuko said with a small smile.

"What can we do for you?" Bunkichi asked before smiling. "Do you need some life advice?"

"Dear I'm sure there's a reason Minato came to see us." Mitsuko said.

"Actually, I thought you would want to see this." Minato said handing them the leaf.

"Is this from the persimmon tree?" Bunkichi asked.

"Yeah, you two told me about it so I thought I should let you know I saw the tree." Minato said calmly.

"That tree was planted in honor of our son, he was a teacher you know." Bunkichi said calmly. "His students planted that tree."

"Oh, you must be proud of him." Minato said.

"You misunderstand, our son is dead." Mitsuko said sadly.

"Oh, I'm sorry for your loss." Minato said.

"Thank you, that's very kind of you." Mitsuko said.

_Thou hast formed a new bond, its power shall help guide you to your destiny, we bestow upon you a blessing when creating personas of the Hierophant arcana._

"Come back if you have a chance." Bunkichi said.

"I think I'll try to do that, thank you." Minato said before leaving the store.

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"Hello, Mina do you have a minute?" Jack asked.

"Jack, I can't talk for long Lazar's really busy trying to get things in order after director Goodwin disappeared." Mina said.

"Wait, Goodwin's missing?" Jack asked. "Mina has anything involving them happened?"

"No, actually nothing, it's as if they're just waiting for something." Mina said.

"I get it, alright thanks Mina." Jack said while hanging up his cell phone.

"What's going on Jack?" Yusei asked.

"Goodwin's gone missing, I have a bad feeling I know why too." Jack said.

"Great, if they got to Goodwin he could be a dark signer." Crow said.

"Hey don't worry about it." Junpei said suddenly. "I mean you already beat one of them, and if they keep coming one at a time there's nothing to worry about."

"I'd agree with you if we knew that was what they were planning, but they could easily try to trick us." Jack said. "One wrong move and the entire world will be destroyed."

"Wow, no pressure or anything." Yukari said. "Still, you guys are the only ones in the city who know how to stop them."

"Yeah, but as long as we have a chance we can wait and prepare." Crow said. "What do you guys think about a practice match back at the dorm?"

"Sure, that sounds like a plan." Yusei said. "Let's go."

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"Welcome back you guys." Minato said calmly. "Is everything ok?"

"For now, but there's no way of knowing if that will change." Jack said. "That's why we're getting some practice in."

"That makes sense, do you mind if I watch the match?" Minato asked.

"That's fine, let's head up to the roof." Crow said with a grin.

"Hold on a second, there's something we need to talk about first." Akihiko said calmly. "There's still the issue of the barrier in Tarturus, has anyone come up with anything?"

"No, maybe it's time related." Jack said. "The barrier might just vanish one day without us doing anything."

"I don't know, somehow that seems unlikely." Akihiko said.

"There's nothing else we can try." Crow said. "Besides, it's not like we're getting anywhere sitting around doing nothing."

"Alright, let's go." Jack said. "You're going to lose this duel."

"That's what you think, I'll take you down no problem." Crow said with a grin.

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"Mr. chairman, did you find anything about the barrier we discovered in Tarturus?" Mitsuru asked.

"Nothing yet, still I have to admit you all are making great progress." Ikutsuki said calmly. "I'm sure you'll find something that can get past that barrier."

"I suppose, still having a clear plan would be preferable." Mitsuru said.

"I agree, but we just need to work with the hand we've been dealt." Mitsuru said calmly.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll figure this out Mitsuru." Ikutsuki said. "We have time."

"That's true, still I can't help but be worried." Mitsuru said.

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"You're finished Jack, I use Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind to cut your Red Dragon Archfiends attack points in half, and next I'll use Sirocco the Dawn to increase Elphin the Raven's attack points." Crow said. "Now I attack with Blackwing – Elphin the Raven."

"Game over Crow. I reveal my trap card, Crimson Flare." Jack said. "Now I send my Red Dragon Archfiend to the graveyard and deal damage equal to his defense points."

"Looks like this duel goes to Jack Crow." Yusei said.

"Oh well, good match bud." Crow said. "Of course I'll be winning next time."

"We'll see, it's going to take more than that to beat my Red Dragon Archfiend." Jack said with a smirk.

(Minato has been informed that a trial will be presented to him very soon, and the signers have learned of Goodwin's disappearance. Next chapter everyone will prepare for the coming battles. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)

(1) (The signers know Mina because she was part of the communication between them and Goodwin, that's how Jack can get in touch with her.)


	27. Chapter 27

"How can you be certain?" Mitsuru asked calmly.

"It's just a feeling, it's not like there's any reason not to be careful." Minato said. "Plus we can't get any farther in Tarturus so it's worth looking into at least."

"I suppose so, still if there is some form of trial tomorrow night we'll need to speak with this boy you mentioned." Mitsuru said.

"I don't know if that's possible." Minato said. "Anyway I need to meet up with someone."

As he said that, Minato walked out of the Student Council room.

"Oh Minato, can I talk with you for a minute?" Yuko asked.

"Sure, is everything alright?" Minato asked.

"Kind of, just come with me for a minute." Yuko said quickly.

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"Yusei, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Crow asked suddenly.

"What's on your mind Crow?" Yusei asked.

"It's Minato, he has a ton of personas but there are two of them that I can't help but feel suspicious about." Crow said.

"You mean Regulus and Rose Tentacles don't you?" Akiza asked.

"Exactly, it's not just that he has those two as his persona, but the roar when he summoned them, something just feels strange about the whole thing." Crow said.

"You're right, in that case we should talk with him tonight." Yusei said. "Oh by the way I win Crow."

"Oh come on, how did I miss that?" Crow asked as his life points hit zero.

"Looks like it's our turn Jack, are you ready?" Akiza asked.

"I'm always ready Akiza." Jack said calmly. "Let's duel."

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"What's on your mind Yuko?" Minato asked.

"Well, it's Kaz." Yuko said. "Something is just bothering me."

"Actually, I noticed it too." Minato said. "There's something strange going on with him."

"That's the thing, I don't know why but it bothers me." Yuko said.

"I understand, don't worry I'll try and talk with him after practice." Minato said.

"Thanks Minato." Yuko said calmly.

_Thou hast brought out new levels of power. The strength to overcome the coming trials has manifested. Your power to create personas of the Strength arcana has increased._

"I'll see you later Yuko." Minato said calmly.

"Right, see you Minato." Yuko said quietly.

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"Wait, are you sure?" Akihiko asked. "How can he know that something is going to happen tomorrow?"

"That's what I wanted to know, but for the time being we should keep our eyes open." Mitsuru said just before the rest of SEES walked into the dorm.

"Oh Mitsuru-sempai, I wanted to ask you something." Crow said. "Do you know anything about Minato's powers?"

"You mean the ability to use multiple personas, I'm not sure how he can do that." Mitsuru said. "Still it's very helpful in our operations."

"That's true, but there's something that just doesn't make sense to me." Crow said. "I think some of his persona aren't natural."

"You mean the ones based on your cards right." Akihiko said. "It might have something to do with that dragon you mentioned."

"The Crimson Dragon, that's what we're thinking, but the question is how can he use its power if he's not a signer?" Jack asked.

"The only one who can answer that is Minato himself." Mitsuru said calmly. "Now then is everyone here?"

"Well Minato, Yukari, and Junpei haven't gotten back quite yet." Leo said.

"When they get back we all need to discuss something important." Mitsuru said while walking upstairs.

"She really needs to learn to relax once in a while." Crow said.

"You don't know the half of it." Akihiko said calmly.

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"Chidori, would you mind if I asked you a few things?" Sayer asked politely.

"We don't have anything to talk about." Chidori said calmly.

"I disagree, the rest of us are concerned that you've been acting unusual recently." Sayer said. "Is there something you need to tell us?"

"No, now if you don't mind I'd like to get back to my drawings." Chidori said calmly.

"If you insist." Sayer said. "Just let us know if there's anything we can do to help."

With those words Sayer left the room.

"What's going on?" Chidori asked. "Should I trust them?"

"_There's only one person who can decide that Chidori, whatever you decide I'll support you." Marie said calmly._

"I need to think about this, it doesn't make any sense." Chidori said calmly.

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"You're all here, I guess that means it's time to head to the command room." Akihiko said calmly.

"Wait what's going on?" Junpei asked. "Did something happen in Tarturus?"

"No, actually there's something else we need to talk about." Mitsuru said calmly. "Specifically your power Minato."

"What do you mean?" Minato asked.

"You're able to use multiple personas, but the very nature of persona is that it's your soul." Mitsuru said. "Essentially having multiple personas means your soul is in several pieces."

"That's right, I didn't even think about that." Yukari said. "Could it have started when he awakened Orpheus?"

"You mean when his persona exploded?" Luna asked.

"Exactly, it's entirely possible that what happened that night was that his soul was damaged somehow, and by extension each persona represents a different component of his soul." Mitsuru said.

"Wait, wouldn't that make him weaker than the rest of us?" Leo asked.

"That's what we don't understand, each of your personas is as strong as ours Minato." Akihiko said. "There must be some explanation."

"Exactly, which is why tonight we're going to see if I can figure anything out involving his persona." Mitsuru said calmly.

"In other words you're going to treat me like a shadow and analyze me." Minato said. "Alright I suppose that might help."

"Of course there's also the event you mentioned earlier today that should happen tomorrow." Mitsuru said calmly.

"Alright, well if that's everything the rest of you should get some rest." Minato said. "I have a feeling this is going to take a while."

"Right, well see you tomorrow Minato." Junpei said calmly.

"Good night Minato, Mitsuru-sempai." Luna said politely.

As she said that the other members of SEES left the command room leaving Minato and Mitsuru to figure things out.

(The members of SEES are attempting to understand Minato's unique power, and are aware of an approaching trial. Next chapter Minato will form a new social link. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)


	28. Chapter 28

"Alright, now then what exactly do you need?" Minato asked.

"If my theory works, when you switch your persona a different part of your soul is summoning its power." Mitsuru said calmly. "Assuming I'm right that difference should be something I can detect."

"Alright, if you say so." Minato said just as the dark hour hit. "Orpheus."

"Come Penthesilea." Mitsuru said. "Alright, let's see what happens."

"Change, Angel." Minato said calmly.

"Nothing, there's clearly something else related to your power." Mitsuru said thoughtfully.

"I guess so, I'll see you tomorrow Mitsuru-sempai." Minato said leaving the command room.

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"Hey what happened last night?" Junpei asked. "Did Mitsuru-sempai figure anything out?"

"No, but as long as my powers can stop them that's the important thing." Minato said calmly.

"Well there's still the test you mentioned, I hope that it isn't too difficult." Yukari said.

"Don't worry, we can handle it." Crow said with a smirk.

"Just make sure to be careful Crow." Yusei said.

"I think I'm going to head out until tonight, some fresh air might do me some good." Minato said. "I'll see you guys later."

"Alright, later Minato." Junpei said calmly.

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I wonder if I'll find any more social links, Minato thought calmly. "Wait a second, isn't that the girl Luna mentioned?"

"Is there a reason you're staring at me?" Chidori asked calmly.

"Sorry, could I ask you something?" Minato asked.

"If you want to." Chidori said before flipping a page in her sketchbook.

"You're Chidori right, Luna told me about you." Minato said. "Are you alright?"

"What do you mean?" Chidori asked.

"She didn't tell us everything, but she said you had a rough time when you were younger. I just thought I should let you know that my friends and I are here if you need us." Minato said honestly.

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind." Chidori said calmly. "You're a lot like Takaya, it's strange."

"Well if we get the chance why don't we talk again later, I'm willing to listen." Minato said.

_Thou hast formed a new bond, its power shall help guide you to your destiny, we bestow upon you a blessing when creating personas of the Hanged Man arcana. _(1)

"Well I'll see you around Chidori." Minato said calmly before leaving.

"_It's strange, I almost feel like Takaya and that boy are two sides of the same coin." Marie said. "Their next meaning will definitely be interesting."_

"I agree, still it's almost time to head back." Chidori said quietly. "I wonder if he was telling the truth."

"_Somehow I think he was, this year has been interesting." Marie said calmly._

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"Yusei, are you sure this is a good idea?" Akiza asked nervously.

"Akiza I'm sure it will be fine, just relax." Yusei said reassuringly. "I promise, it's just like last time just with ice this time."

"Alright, if you say so." Akiza said getting on to the rink.

"See, we're just here to relax." Yusei said with a smile.

"You're right, thanks Yusei." Akiza said.

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"Hey Yuka-tan, I've been meaning to ask you something." Junpei said. "How long have you known about your power?"

"You mean Io, I've known for a little over a year." Yukari said. "Why?"

"It's just if Minato was right about tonight, things are going really fast. I mean most of us awoke to our persona less than a month ago." Junpei said. "It's kind of hard to believe."

"Yeah, I guess you have a point." Yukari said. "Either way we should make sure we're prepared for tonight."

"Yeah, you're right." Junpei said. "Let's go."

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"What do you think Mitsuru?" Akihiko asked. "If his power isn't related to what happened that night what else could it be?"

"I'm not sure, still there's definitely a reason he can use multiple personas." Mitsuru said. "For now we should just keep an eye out for anything unusual."

"Yeah, I'm heading out to see if he's heard anything." Akihiko said. "One of these days he'll come back."

"I hope so Akihiko, I certainly hope so." Mitsuru said thoughtfully.

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"You just don't get it do you Crow, you're not going to be able to defeat me in a duel." Jack said with a smirk.

"Jack we haven't dueled in a long time, and last I checked I won the last duel we had." Crow said.

"Correction Crow, that was a triangle duel and Yusei took both of us out." Jack said just before his mark started to glow. "Wait, what's going on?"

"I wish I knew Jack." Crow said before six crimson beams shot into the sky just as the Crimson Dragon appeared. "That's different, but none of the others are dueling. Is this related to what Minato said?"

"I think you're right Crow, in that case we need to get back to the dorm right away." Jack said just as the two of them started sprinting towards the dorm.

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"Come on Leo, we need to get to the others." Luna said.

"I know Luna, I'm right behind you." Leo said.

"Kuribon, what's happening?" Luna asked before freezing. "Are you sure?"

"Luna what's happening?" Leo asked.

"Something dangerous is coming, I don't know what but it's something bad." Luna said.

"Wait, didn't Minato say something last night?" Leo asked. "Do you think he can see the future?"

"Maybe." Luna said thoughtfully. "I only hope that we get through this."

"We will, I promise." Leo said.

"You're right Leo." Luna said. "Thanks."

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"Alright can somebody please explain to me why that giant dragon you told us about just appeared in midair?" Junpei asked.

"I have a feeling it's related to what Minato said." Yusei said. "Still if the Crimson Dragon made an appearance whatever we're dealing with is going to be dangerous."

"More than dangerous, the last time the Crimson Dragon showed up was when we learned about the dark signers. Whatever's going to happen tonight is going to effect the entire world." Jack said.

"In that case we should all be prepared, the dark hour is going to begin soon." Mitsuru said calmly.

(The members of SEES are preparing for the first trial that they were warned about. Next chapter the first full moon operation will begin. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)

(1) (Nothing against Maiko, but for the purposes of this story Chidori is going to represent the Hanged Man Arcana. Although in regards to romance options Minato will not enter an intimate relationship with her.)


	29. Chapter 29

"Well, do you detect anything Mitsuru?" Akihiko asked.

"Nothing, I guess Minato was wrong about something happening tonight." Mitsuru said just before freezing. "No wait, there's a massive shadow outside of Tarturus."

"Are you sure, alright I'll sound the alarm." Akihiko said quickly.

As soon as Akihiko said that, he pressed a button on the console and a blaring siren sounded throughout the entire dorm.

"I'm here, is it time?" Junpei asked eagerly. "Time to take down more shadows."

"Junpei, we don't even know what it is we're dealing with." Yukari said. "We need to be careful."

"She's right, I'm sensing an extremely powerful one outside of Tarturus." Mitsuru said. "We need to form a plan before we run into battle recklessly."

"In that case let's think for a second, who works together the best?" Akiza asked.

"That's hard to say, still Minato knew about this in advance so he should definitely go." Crow said.

"In that case I'll go with Yukari, Jack, and Junpei." Minato said. "It should be fine."

"Alright, the rest of you stay here, I'll let you know if anything happens." Mitsuru said calmly.

"Right, good luck you guys." Leo said.

"We'll be fine, I'll tell you what happened tomorrow Leo." Jack said confidently.

"Let's head out." Minato said calmly.

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"This is the place, but where is Mitsuru-sempai?" Junpei asked.

"She's probably taking care of something right now." Yukari said. "I'm sure she'll be here soon."

The moment Yukari said that, a motorcycle drove up to them.

"Well, that's one way to make an entrance." Jack said. "Though didn't you say machines don't work during the dark hour?"

"My bike is a special case, right now the important thing is to deal with the shadow." Mitsuru said calmly. "It should be located in the monorail just ahead. Be careful though, I have no idea how strong this one is."

"Right, I understand." Minato said. "Let's take this shadow down."

"Yeah that sounds like a plan." Junpei said with a smirk.

"Well in that case you should hurry up Junpei." Yukari said. "Jack and I are waiting at the train."

"I get it, alright right behind you Yukari." Minato said. "Let's go Junpei."

"Yeah, time to take down this shadow." Junpei said confidently.

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"What do you think Crow, can those guys handle it?" Yusei asked.

"I don't know, I mean I hope they can." Crow said. "I guess we just have to wait and see what happens."

"That's true, but Mitsuru can keep an eye on things." Akihiko said. "I'm positive it will work out in the end."

"That's a relief, still it's hard to believe that Minato was right about tonight." Akiza said.

"I agree, still we can talk about that tomorrow. Right now the important thing is pulling off the operation." Akihiko said.

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"_The shadow should be in the front car." Mitsuru said calmly._

"Right, we'll take down the shadow and get back in no time." Junpei said confidently.

"Hold on, we don't even know what kind of enemy we're going up against, we should be careful." Yukari said.

"Actually, I think the shadow might be in the next car." Jack said calmly.

"How can you tell?" Minato asked.

"The window leading to the next car." Jack said.

"Right, let's be careful you guys." Minato said just before opening the door.

"_What is this, I've never seen anything like this." Mitsuru said nervously._

"Don't worry, I'm sure this will be easy, it's four on one."Junpei said.

Suddenly two shadows appeared next to the larger one.

"You just had to say something didn't you?" Jack asked in annoyance.

"We can deal with that afterwards, right now we need to take this thing down." Minato said. "Persona, Orpheus."

"Right, come forth Red Dragon Archfiend." Jack said.

"Hermes." Junpei said while summoning his persona.

"Io." Yukari said as her persona appeared. "Now what leader?"

"Yukari, you and Jack handle the reinforcements. Leave the big shadow to me and Junpei." Minato said.

"Right, Agi." Junpei said confidently.

"What's the plan for taking this thing down?" Jack asked.

"Let's see what it can do first." Minato said before slashing the shadow with his sword.

Suddenly a blast of ice struck him sending him to the ground.

"Ice, lovely." Jack said. "Red Dragon Archfiend, Power Slash."

As Jack said that, the Red Dragon Archfiend's hand began to glow before slashing across the shadow.

"Nice, a critical. Good job Jack." Minato said.

The moment he said that, a large flame passed in front by the shadows destroying both of the smaller ones.

"Wow, you were right Yuka-tan." Junpei said. "You guys need a hand?"

"You're just in time. Let's go all out." Minato said just before the train started moving.

"_What's going on, you're heading on a collision course with another train." Mitsuru said suddenly._

"Wait we're going to crash?" Yukari asked nervously.

"Alright, let's take this thing down and stop this train." Minato said. "Let's go, it's about to get back up."

With those words, the four members of SEES ran towards the shadow and attacked it relentlessly.

"Darn, it's not dead yet." Junpei said. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"Well, there's this." Minato said. "Change Persona."

The moment he said that, Akiza's Rose Tentacles appeared behind Minato. "Garula."

As the wind struck the shadow, it cried out before vanishing in a cloud of red smoke.

"_Hurry, the train is picking up speed." Mitsuru said urgently._

"We need to do something now." Jack said. "Do any of you know how to operate a train?"

Yukari and Junpei just looked at each other nervously.

"No, we don't." Yukari said just as Minato ran into the engineer's room and the train slowly started to stop.

"Wait, you know how to operate a train?" Junpei asked incredulously.

"No, I trusted my instincts and pulled the lever." Minato said.

"Well the important thing is everyone is alright." Jack said calmly.

"_That was far to close, are you all safe?" Mitsuru asked._

"Yeah, everything worked out." Minato said. "Let's head back to the dorm."

"I agree, it's been a ridiculous night." Yukari said. "Hopefully we won't have to deal with this again any time soon."

(The Priestess arcana shadow has been defeated. Next chapter Minato will attempt to explain how he knew about the trial in advance. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)


	30. Chapter 30

"Welcome back you guys, so how did it go?" Crow asked.

"It was unbelievable, the shadow was way stronger than anything we've fought in Tarturus." Junpei said. "Still we somehow managed to get through it."

"That's good, still there's something we should talk about tomorrow after school." Yusei said. "How Minato knew that there would be a shadow tonight."

"That's true, but I'm ready to go to bed, that was enough adventure for one night." Yukari said.

"Agreed, we'll all meet in the command room tomorrow after school." Mitsuru said calmly.

_Thou hast brought out new levels of power. The strength to overcome the coming trials has manifested. Your power to create personas of the Fool arcana has increased._

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"Alright Sayer, so they destroyed one shadow." Jin said. "Still they don't seem to know anything about what it was, we don't have any proof they want to eliminate the dark hour."

"That's true, in that case we should just keep an eye on them." Sayer said calmly. "Just to be certain."

"I agree, if they truly do wish to eliminate the dark hour we should convince them otherwise." Takaya said calmly.

"Of course, after all you're the one in charge Takaya." Sayer said calmly.

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"Morning Minato, are you ok?" Junpei asked. "I mean, last night was kind of crazy."

"I'm ok, still it's really strange." Minato said. "When can shadows take over trains?"

"I don't know, but we managed to save everyone." Junpei said just as Yukari walked downstairs.

"Oh, you two are up." Yukari said. "Actually as long as we have a chance I was wondering how exactly you knew that was going to happen."

"I can explain after school Yukari, trust me it's almost to difficult for me to believe." Minato said.

"Come on man, you can tell us something about it. Just a clue, the long explanation can come later." Junpei said. "Plus we don't have to head to school for a few minutes anyway."

"Alright, well in that case all I know is that someone warned me about it." Minato said. "During the dark hour."

"No way, someone else has the potential?" Yukari asked in disbelief.

"Like I said, things are really complicated and there's a lot more that I need to explain tonight." Minato said. "Anyway we should get going."

"Alright, but I'm going to hold you to that." Yukari said before the three of them walked out of the dorm.

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"Minato, there's a council meeting today." Hidetoshi said calmly. "Are you coming?"

"Oh, yeah actually I think I will stop by the meeting. Thanks for letting me know." Minato said calmly.

"Right, there's something I need to do so it's going to be you, Mitsuru-sempai, and Chihiro." Hidetoshi said. "I'll be back for the next meeting."

"Alright, do they know about that?" Minato asked.

"Yeah, I told Mitsuru-sempai already." Hidetoshi said walking off.

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"You're Yusei right?" Kazushi asked after class.

"Yeah, is something wrong Kazushi?" Yusei asked.

"Oh you can just call me Kaz." Kazushi said calmly. "Actually I was just wondering what the flyer said about dueling, do you have some kind of sword fighting club or something?"

"Not really, my friends and I just play a card game and the matches are called duels that's all." Yusei said simply.

"Oh, that makes sense." Kazushi said. "Well I'll see you later, I need to go work on my swimming."

"Right, see you tomorrow Kaz." Yusei said while Kazushi walked out of the room.

"We should head back, I want to know what Minato has to say." Jack said quickly.

"I'd love to talk to you guys but I have something to do after school, I'll be back later though." Minato said.

"Alright, see you Minato." Crow said calmly.

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"Oh, hi Chihiro." Minato said.

"H-hello Minato." Chihiro said nervously while quickly putting a book into her bag. "Um, did Mitsuru-sempai tell you when she would be coming?"

"No, but she should be here in a little bit." Minato said. "Actually do you want to talk for a minute?"

The moment Minato said that Chihiro froze.

"Th-that's ok Minato." Chihiro said nervously.

"Is something wrong?" Minato asked. "Wait that's right, Mitsuru-sempai told me that you're uncomfortable talking to boys."

"She's right, I do." Chihiro said. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright, but if you want to hang out sometime I'm more than willing spend some time with you." Minato said. "I mean, that's what friends do right?"

"Oh, well thank you Minato." Chihiro said. "I'll let you know if I have some time."

_Thou hast formed a new bond, its power shall help guide you to your destiny, we bestow upon you a blessing when creating personas of the Justice arcana._

"That sounds good, see you tomorrow Chihiro." Minato said calmly.

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"Where's Arisato?" Mitsuru asked calmly. "There are quite a few things we need to discuss before the dark hour."

"I know, he said something about needing to do something after class." Crow said. "He should be back by now though."

"Something to do, he must have gone to Student Council." Mitsuru said. "I should have canceled the meeting since I had something to take care of today."

"The Kirijo group right?" Akihiko asked.

"Yes, a few more things came up that I needed to handle." Mitsuru said calmly.

"Sempai, I wanted to ask you something." Yukari said. "About the dark hour, what exactly happened to cause it?"

"I don't know all the details, but I do know that it was the cause of the dark hour." Mitsuru said before Minato walked into the room.

"Welcome back Minato." Luna said politely.

"Hi Luna, was everyone waiting for me?" Minato asked.

"Actually we were just talking a little bit." Jack said. "Although now that you're here we can talk about what happened last night."

"Alright, it's going to be a long story though." Minato said. "There's a lot more to talk about than just how I knew about the shadow in advance. Including my powers."

"Well in that case let's head up to the command room, the others are waiting there." Jack said calmly.

(Minato has formed yet another social link, this time with Chihiro from the student council and is preparing to attempt to explain things to the rest of SEES. Next chapter Minato will reveal the existence of the mysterious boy from the dark hour, and the velvet room. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)


	31. Chapter 31

"Alright, now that we're all here how did you know about the shadow last night?" Mitsuru asked.

"Well, I was warned in advance by a strange boy who only appears during the dark hour." Minato said. "I would say it sounds crazy but we deal with things like that every day."

"Still, that doesn't explain how he knew about the shadow." Akihiko said. "Plus even if he somehow knew in advance why would he tell you and not the rest of us?"

"That's true, plus we would have known if someone came into the dorm during the dark hour." Yukari said. "We know that someone is up every night making sure nothing happens."

"That's true, and I didn't see anything the past week." Jack said.

"Maybe it's some kind of telepathic communication, we don't know everything that happens during the dark hour so it's possible." Akiza suggested.

"Maybe, but if that's true shouldn't Minato be able to contact this boy and ask about the dark hour now?" Junpei asked.

"Wait, if he only appears during the dark hour couldn't he be a shadow?" Yusei asked.

"I don't think he is, or at least if he is a shadow he hasn't tried to do anything harmful yet." Minato said. "Still, there is one other thing I probably should mention."

With those words Minato reached into his pocket and placed the velvet key on the table. (1)

"Wait, what kind of key is that?" Leo asked.

"It's the velvet key, and it leads to the room I get my personas." Minato said.

"Interesting, would it be possible for us to see this room?" Mitsuru asked.

"I don't know, I might be able to the next time we go to Tarturus." Minato said. "You've seen me stare blankly at the wall right?"

"Yeah, and then after a few seconds you stop and if you're going to climb Tarturus you head to the teleporter." Yukari said.

"Well, that's not entirely true." Minato said. "The truth is I'm going into the velvet room."

"The what room?" Crow asked. "Wait, is this key connected to that velvet room?"

"Yeah, I don't know if I can but I'll try and show you tomorrow." Minato said calmly.

"Right, that should be fine." Mitsuru said calmly.

Suddenly Minato's cell phone started to ring.

"Huh, Hello?" Minato asked.

"Hello, this is Elizabeth." Elizabeth said happily. "I'm calling to let you know that a barrier in Tarturus has opened up."

"Oh thanks." Minato said. "Wait, how did you get my number?"

"I saw it written in the compendium." Elizabeth said calmly before hanging up.

"Ok, that was strange." Minato said.

"What was that all about, who just called you?" Jack asked.

"That's hard to explain, it would be easier to show you tomorrow when we go to Tarturus." Minato said. "I have a feeling we can move on now."

"More of your mysterious information Minato?" Crow asked.

"Yeah, you could say that." Minato said before putting away the velvet key. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"See you Minato." Yukari said calmly. "Oh wait, I wanted to ask you something first."

"Yeah, what is it Yukari?" Minato asked.

"It's just I can't help but notice that you looked even stronger last night even though we haven't been to Tarturus in a while." Yukari said. "How is that even possible?"

"I don't think I can explain it, well at least not until tomorrow." Minato said calmly.

"Alright, if you say so." Yukari said calmly.

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"Morning Jack, how are you?" Junpei asked.

"I'm alright, still last night was really weird, well hopefully whatever this velvet room is will make everything simpler." Jack said.

"I agree, but I'm still confused about what happened. Who called Minato, it didn't sound like he knew who it was."Junpei said as Yukari and Akiza walked into the kitchen.

"No, he knew who it was." Akiza said. "He just didn't know how they got his phone number, which means he didn't give it to them."

"This is just getting more confusing the more he says, the dark hour can't come soon enough." Jack said in annoyance.

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"Roman, the new moon is eleven days away, which one of us is going to take down the signers?" Kalin asked.

"You will go Kalin, still those three that Sayer is associating with have a dangerous aura around them." Roman said. "That's why I want you to take a look into them for me Carly."

"How, they would recognize me immediately." Carly said nervously.

"That's true, but that's not what I meant. Sayer demonstrated a strange power, so until you receive my signal you should wait in the netherworld." Roman said.

"I get it, you're planning on having Carly bypass whatever force keeps us from seeing what's going on." Kalin said. "Wish I could see what he's up to, but I'll settle for taking down Yusei."

"Right, I'll see what happens." Carly said as she vanished through a purple portal.

"Now then, all that's left is to wait." Misty said calmly.

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"Oh, morning Minato." Kazushi said with a smile. "Are you going to be at practice today?"

"Actually no, I plan on stopping by the bookstore after school today." Minato said.

"That makes sense, well I'll be sure to let Yuko know about it." Kazushi said.

"Thanks man, I'll see you later." Minato said calmly before walking into the school.

"Oh Minato, I've been meaning to talk with you about something." miss Toriumi said calmly. "You live in the same dorm as Junpei Iori correct?"

"Yeah, is everything alright?" Minato asked calmly.

"Well, you're doing well." miss Toriumi said. "It's Junpei, his grades are terrible and I feel he needs extra help. Could you let him know that he's expected to come see me after school today?"

"Alright, I'll tell him for you." Minato said. "Although couldn't you tell him after class?"

"I would, but I need to take care of something during class today. There's a meeting so I'm just having you all practice what we went over last time." miss Toriumi said. "Thanks for the help Minato."

"It's fine." Minato said calmly before walking into class.

(Minato has informed the rest of SEES about the velvet room and is preparing to show it to them, and the dark signers have planned a way to try and infiltrate the dark hour. Next chapter Minato will strengthen two social links. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)

(1) (Persona 3 FES the answer had the other members of SEES enter the velvet room so it is possible.)


	32. Chapter 32

"Another day ends, what are you guys going to do after school?" Junpei asked.

"Well I plan on stopping by the bookstore and talking to the owners." Minato said. "As for you Junpei, miss Toriumi wants to see you."

"Oh man, what did I do wrong?" Junpei asked miserably.

"Well you're not exactly a star student Junpei." Yukari said. "Actually I think I'm going to head to Paulownia Mall with Akiza."

"Right, see you guys later." Minato said calmly.

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"Oh, hello Minato." Bunkichi said happily. "It's great to see you."

"No it's my pleasure, this is a nice little store." Minato said.

"You're such a good kid, you remind me of him." Mitsuko said sadly.

"Who, is everything ok?" Minato asked.

"No it's just, you remind us of our son." Bunkichi said.

"Oh, well thank you." Minato said. "I'm sure you must be proud of him."

"Yes, we're very proud of him." Bunkichi said with a smile.

_Thou hast brought out new levels of power. The strength to overcome the coming trials has manifested. Your power to create personas of the Hierophant arcana has increased._

"I'll see you again." Minato said calmly.

"Wait a second, here take this for the road." Bunkichi said handing a small bag to Minato. "Just consider it a gift."

"Oh, thanks Bunkichi." Minato said walking out of the store.

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"Mr. Sayer, there's something very important you should know." said a young psychic duelist.

"What is it?" Sayer asked calmly.

"Two nights ago the special thing you asked us to look into gave off an incredible flare of power." the young duelist said.

"I see, let me know if it happens again." Sayer said. "Things are getting interesting."

"Of course, whatever you say Sayer." the duelist said calmly.

It looks like I was right about that creature, I just need to make sure I have everything prepared for that, Sayer thought calmly.

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"Oh, funny seeing you here." Minato said calmly.

"I come here often, it helps me when I want to clear my head." Chidori said calmly. "Now please leave me alone."

"I just came out of the bookstore, would you mind if I asked what you're drawing?" Minato asked.

"That's none of your business." Chidori said bluntly.

"Is something wrong?" Minato asked. "Wait, is there something wrong with your friends?"

"You don't know how to listen, I said it's not your business." Chidori said before closing her sketchbook. "Why are you so interested anyway?"

"It's just the kind of person I am." Minato said. "Besides, we do have a few things in common."

"What do you mean?" Chidori asked.

"Well for starters there's the dark hour." Minato said. "Though that's just one."

"I need to go, if you insist on coming back that's your decision." Chidori said calmly. "Still, what else did you mean?"

"I'll tell you later, I need to get going myself." Minato said.

_Thou hast brought out new levels of power. The strength to overcome the coming trials has manifested. Your power to create personas of the Hanged Man arcana has increased._

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"Welcome back Minato, anything interesting happen at the bookstore?" Junpei asked.

"You could say that." Minato said calmly. "Where are the others?"

"Our sempai are out talking with someone about the school. Yuka-tan, Akiza, and the twins went to the shrine, and Yusei, Jack, and Crow are on the roof." Junpei said.

"Alright, in that case I'm heading up." Minato said. "We don't want anyone flying off the roof again."

"Yeah, I'll head up with you." Junpei said calmly.

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"Alright Yusei, it's time to end this duel." Jack said. "Red Dragon Archfiend attack Stardust Dragon."

"I play my trap card Stardust Illusion, this card negates your attack." Yusei said. "Next I draw one card and if it's a monster Stardust Dragon attacks you directly."

"Alright Yusei, let's see what you can do." Jack said calmly.

"I drew the monster card Turbo Booster." Yusei said. "Stardust Dragon end this duel."

"Well, I must have missed something fun." Minato said. "How many matches have you guys played today?"

"Hey Minato, we just started playing." Crow said. "Actually now that I think about it maybe you could pick up the game."

"Thanks for the offer, but I don't think it would suit me." Minato said honestly. "Still, things are going to be crazy in Tarturus tonight."

"That's right, you're planning on showing us that room." Jack said.

"Yeah, well if I can." Minato said. "I'm pretty sure I can show you guys anyway."

Suddenly Regulus appeared next to the Minato.

"Regulus, what's going on?" Minato asked calmly.

"Something is happening in the Spirit World, the Ancient Fairy Dragon is trying to figure out what caused it but you all need to be warned." Regulus said. "Whatever it is originated from your world, so be careful."

"Right, I'll let the others know what's going on." Minato said as Regulus faded away.

"I take it from the conversation that Regulus was talking to you, what's going on Minato?" Yusei asked.

"Something's happening in the Spirit World, I think it has to do with the dark hour." Minato said.

"I see, in that case it's a good thing we'll be going to Tarturus tonight." Mitsuru said walking onto the roof. "Once we are shown this velvet room you mentioned tonight's team will climb until the next transporter."

"Right, that sounds like a plan." Crow said. "We have some time while we wait, are you sure you're not interested in learning how to play Minato?"

"I'm alright, well for now anyway." Minato said calmly. "Maybe I'll pick up the game some other time, probably once the dark hour is over."

"That makes sense, I'll be looking forward to that." Crow said with a grin.

_Thou hast brought out new levels of power. The strength to overcome the coming trials has manifested. Your power to create personas of the Crimson arcana has increased._

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot." Akihiko said. "Someone named Mina called and wanted to tell you that the Satellite was glowing earlier today."

"The Satellite, what are they up to?" Yusei asked nervously.

"I don't know, but I'm sure you guys will be able to take care of them." Akihiko said confidently.

(Minato is continuing to strengthen his social links, and SEES is preparing to go to Tarturus. Next chapter the rest of SEES will be shown the velvet room. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)


	33. Chapter 33

"Alright, is everyone ready to head to Tarturus?" Minato asked.

"Yeah, it's about time we find out everything that's been going on." Akihiko said. "Plus if you're right we need to get to the next teleporter."

"Alright, but we should keep in mind the shadows are probably going to be stronger past the barrier." Yusei said.

"True, but that's why we're working as a team, we'll be able to take down all of the shadows no problem." Jack said. "Speaking of which who's going with you today Minato?"

"This time I think I'll go with Yukari, Jack, and Akihiko." Minato said. "Are you ready to go sempai?"

"No problem, let's get going." Akihiko said calmly.

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"Alright, I hope this works." Minato said calmly while walking towards the velvet room. "Brace yourself guys, this is a lot to take in."

"I'll take your word for it Minato, although before we go into this velvet room is there anything we should be made aware of?" Mitsuru asked.

"There's a lot you should know about the velvet room, but I'm not the person who should explain everything." Minato said. "Igor is."

"Igor, who in the world is Igor?" Yukari asked.

"If I had to explain, he's the one in charge of the velvet room." Minato said. "Oh and he's easily much more powerful than any of us."

"Don't worry, if this guy is strong we can beat him with our teamwork." Junpei said confidently.

Suddenly a blue glow surrounded SEES, and they disappeared.

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"This is quite the interesting surprise, it's been quite some time since we've had multiple visitors to the velvet room." Igor said calmly. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Whoa, you weren't kidding about this place being a lot to take in." Leo said.

"Actually, we were wondering if you could explain what you know about Minato's power." Mitsuru said calmly.

"You mean the power to wield multiple persona correct?" Igor asked calmly. "Elizabeth can explain the details."

"Minato has the power of the wild card, in essence it allows him to wield several persona from each of the twenty-two arcana." Elizabeth said calmly. "In order to increase his power he forms social links with people he knows and spends time with."

"Wait, you mean he spends time with people just to get stronger?" Yukari asked. "That's one of the worst things I've ever heard, how can anyone be that heartless?"

"You misunderstand, a social link is a genuine bond with another." Igor said. "To be more precise it is the bonds he forms with others that fuel his power, not his power that fuels his connections with others."

"I see, so by spending time with me for example he get's stronger." Jack said. "That makes sense."

"It is slightly more complex, each bond provides power for one of the arcana." Elizabeth said simply. "As of now he has several bonds, including two with people in this very room."

"I see, who would those two be?" Mitsuru asked.

"They would be the Lover's arcana, from his bond with you." Elizabeth said pointing to Yukari.

"Wait, Lover's?" Yukari asked. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"Actually, it makes perfect sense as that's your arcana." Igor said calmly. "You are a wielder of the Lover's arcana and so the social link that is formed with you can only be represented as such."

"The other arcana is one I have never seen before, but it resonates with all of you." Elizabeth said pointing to the signers. "The Crimson arcana."

"Crimson arcana, but that's not a true arcana." Mitsuru said. "How can it be part of Arisato's powers?"

"That's simple, if the Crimson arcana comes from us it has to be related to the Crimson Dragon." Yusei said.

"Crimson Dragon, what's that?" Elizabeth asked curiously.

"I think it would be quicker to just show you." Crow said. "Then again I'm not sure if he'll fit in this room."

The moment Crow said that, the velvet room increased in size dramatically. (1)

"Will this suffice?" Igor asked with a slight chuckle.

"It should be plenty." Yusei said as the six marks of the Crimson Dragon began to glow.

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"A spider, alright I guess it's time to see what's happening that the signers know about and we don't." Carly said before traveling from the spirit world to the human world. "What the, this isn't possible."

In front of Carly, the sky was entire world looked as if it were taken from a horror movie, the water had turned blood red, the moon was a ghostly green, and there were coffins everywhere.

"_Carly, be extremely careful." Aslla Piscu said. "I don't fully understand what's going on, but I can't hear any of the others, and our powers are nearly nonexistent here."_

"Wait, do you know anything about this?" Carly asked hopefully.

"_No, I just know that an incredibly dangerous force exists here." Aslla Piscu said. "One that may be even stronger than the King of the Netherworld himself."_

"No way, things couldn't possibly be any worse." Carly said nervously. "Well we should at least try and figure something out."

"_I agree, just be careful there's no telling what might happen." Aslla Piscu said calmly. _(2)

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"Wow, there's something different about this dragon then a persona." Junpei said in awe. "So this thing is the source of your power, the ones you use against those giant monsters?"

"In simple terms yes, there's more to it than that but we already explained it to you." Akiza said calmly.

"I see, quite a marvelous creature." Igor said calmly. "Is there anything else that you require of us at the moment?"

"Not for now, thanks Igor." Minato said calmly. "Well, are you guys ready to climb farther into Tarturus?"

"You can say that, it feels like it's been ages since we've climbed this tower." Jack said.

"Akihiko-sempai, I've been meaning to ask." Leo said. "What kind of persona do you have?"

"Well, you'll just have to wait and find out." Akihiko said confidently.

(The other members of SEES have met Igor and Elizabeth and learned about Minato's power, and Carly has returned from the Netherworld into the dark hour. Next chapter the next guardian of Tarturus will be defeated. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)


	34. Chapter 34

"So this is the barrier that's been keeping us from climbing any further into Tarturus." Akihiko said calmly.

Suddenly the gate blocking the stairs vanished into the ground.

"Well, after you sempai." Minato said calmly as the group climbed to the next floor.

"_Be careful, the shadows up ahead are stronger then the ones we're used to." Mitsuru said._

"Don't you worry about that, we'll take care of this easily." Jack said confidently.

The moment Jack said that, a group of shadows noticed the four members of SEES.

"Polydeuces, Zionga." Akihiko said calmly.

"Impressive, you're definitely strong sempai." Jack said.

"Don't relax yet, we're far from done." Akihiko said punching a shadow.

Suddenly an explosion destroyed nearly all of the remaining shadows.

"What was that?" Yukari asked while Jack sliced the last shadow in half.

"Megido, Regulus comes in handy." Minato said. "Still, that took a lot out of me."

"Right, in that case let us take the lead for a while." Akihiko said calmly.

As he said that, the group climbed up the stairs again.

"_There's a strong one three floors above you." Mitsuru said. "Be careful."_

"Wait a second, I have an idea." Jack said suddenly. "Mitsuru-sempai, can you have Yusei try something for me?"

"_What are you planning Jack?" Mitsuru asked._

"I want to see if it's just Akiza who can have her cards become real during the dark hour, if the rest of us can that's much more power that we can use to get to the top of Tarturus." Jack said.

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"I get it, if we can use our entire deck the six of us can provide much more support in Tarturus." Yusei said. "Alright, there's only one way to test this." Yusei said. "I summon Debris Dragon. Leo, do you want to try?"

"Ok, try what?" Leo asked.

"If this card is real, you should be able to fly on Debris Dragon." Yusei said.

"Oh, that makes sense." Leo said just before the Debris Dragon vanished.

"I guess that won't work, well unless one of us magically became a psychic duelist." Crow said. "Well at least it was worth a try."

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"Looks like it didn't work Jack." Minato said calmly.

"Well, in that case we should be careful." Jack said. "Are you alright to keep going?"

"Yeah, I just needed to slow down a little." Minato said. "Let's keep going, we have a teleporter to reach."

"Sounds like a plan, let's get going." Akihiko said calmly.

With those words a group of shadows appeared and charged towards the four members of SEES.

"Red Dragon Archfiend, take those shadows down right now." Jack said.

"No wait." Minato said quickly. "I have an idea, but you all need to stay back."

The moment he said that Minato began to glow with energy. "Justice."

As he said that, the silhouettes of two angelic personas appeared behind Minato and a blinding flash of light hit all of the shadows, severely weakening them.

"Wait, how did you do that?" Yukari asked in shock.

"It just came to me, but we should run before they recover." Minato said.

"Why run, we can take down those shadows easily." Akihiko said just before Minato collapsed to his knees.

"_What's going on?" Mitsuru asked. "You all need to get going if you're going to get to the teleporter before the dark hour ends."_

"She's right, we need to get going, how much farther should it be sempai?" Jack asked.

"_It's on the next floor, but be careful." Mitsuru said calmly._

"Right, don't worry, we'll be alright." Minato said. "Archangel, Mahama."

"Ok, let's keep going. We're almost there." Yukari said. "The stairs are right there."

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"Is something bothering you Jin?" Syer asked calmly. "I'm willing to listen if you're willing to talk."

"It's none of your business, you might act like you're cooperating with us, but you haven't told us anything about yourself, or why you joined in the first place." Jin said angrily.

"I understand you want an explanation, so I'll offer you a deal." Sayer said calmly. "If you tell me about how this organization started I'll tell you why I joined."

"Very well, I'll explain that." Takaya said calmly. "Of course it was quite some time ago and a few of the details are unknown even to us."

"That's fine, I'm more than willing to listen." Sayer said politely.

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"Those must be the guardians of this floor." Jack said gesturing to three shadows shaped like tables. "This won't take long at all."

"Right, Orpheus, Agi." Minato said.

Just as the flames hit the shadows, they began to glow and were unaffected.

"Ok, looks like fire doesn't work." Akihiko said. "Polydeuces, Zionga."

Unlike the flames, the electrical bolt dealt damage to one of the shadows.

That's it, Jack thought. "Akihiko-sempai, I have an idea to take those three down quickly."

"What are you thinking Jack?" Minato asked.

"A lightning storm, Zionga inside of Yukari's Magaru." Jack said.

"That just might work, what do you think Yukari?" Akihiko asked.

"It's worth a try, Io Magaru." Yukari said.

"Zionga." Akihiko said just before a tornado sparking with electricity around the three shadows destroying two of them and slamming the third into the wall.

"Right, I'll finish this." Jack said before the Red Dragon Archfined destroyed the shadow with its claw.

"Good, let's head to the teleporter." Akihiko said calmly. "The dark hour is almost over."

"I agree, I need to get some rest after tonight." Yukari said.

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"What in the world, it's been nearly an hour in this wretched place." Carly said weakly.

"_No, the strange power is fading, in fact it's nearly gone." Aslla Piscu said._

Suddenly the sky, moon, and water returned to normal and the other dark signers emerged from the coffins.

"Carly, you've returned." Roman said calmly. "What did you discover?"

"The world was completely different, and the Earthbound Immortals had no power." Carly said fearfully. "Whatever power allows the signers to experience that is something we should never interfere with."

"I see, I will experience it myself tomorrow night." Roman said. "If the signers possess a power that allows them to fight in this strange world you speak of, I should have the same potential."

"Well just make sure you leave the signers to us Roman." Kalin said with a smirk.

(SEES has gotten to the fourth teleporter in Tarturus, but now Roman is preparing to experience the dark hour himself. Next chapter a new social link will begin. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)


	35. Chapter 35

"Arisato, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about." Mitsuru said. "Would you mind meeting me after class today?"

"I guess not, what's on your mind?" Minato asked.

"We can talk later, I have something to attend to at the moment." Mitsuru said before walking away.

"What do you think that was about?" Junpei asked.

"I'm not sure, but we'll have to wait and see what happens." Minato said. "Oh yeah, wasn't Akihiko-sempai looking for you?"

"He was, I guess he wants to compliment my skill in Tarturus." Jumpei said with a grin.

"I'm sure that's it." Minato said. "See you in class Junpei."

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"Akiza, are you alright?" Yusei asked. "You look tired."

"I'll be alright Yusei, I just had a bad night when we got back to the dorm." Akiza said. "I'll be fine."

"Akiza you should know us better than that." Crow said. "Something's on your mind so just tell us."

"It's nothing, I just need some more rest." Akiza said. "I'll be fine after that."

"If you say so, but just let us know if anything's bothering you alright." Yusei said.

"I will, thanks Yusei." Akiza said with a smile as Yusei and Crow walked away. I can't tell them what happened, we have enough things to worry about.

"Oh, good morning Akiza." Fuuka said calmly. "Oh are you alright? You look a little pale today."

"I'm ok, just a little tired." Akiza said quietly.

"Alright, but just tell me if you need anything alright?" Fuuka asked.

Wait, maybe that could work, Akiza thought. "Actually could you do me a huge favor Fuuka?"

"Alright, what do you need?" Fuuka asked politely.

"I need you to hold onto this for me, it's really important." Akiza said handing a single card to Fuuka.

"Ok, I'll hold onto it for you." Fuuka said before looking at the card. "I've never heard of this kind of card before, Black Rose Dragon, is it part of that new club?"

"Yeah, I just thought I should try some of my other cards first." Akiza said.

"That makes sense, just let me know if you want it back." Fuuka said while putting the card in her pocket.

"Thanks." Akiza said quietly. Now hopefully he won't be able to bring her back, she thought hopefully.

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"It's official, that was the strangest lecture I've ever heard." Junpei said. "I mean magic, what kind of idiot would believe in that?"

"I don't know Junpei, maybe the same people who go to Tarturus every night." Jack said sarcastically.

"I know, but seriously does that help you at all?" Junpei asked. "I mean it has nothing to do with that. There's a huge difference between what we know about and what he was saying."

"Well either way, we should be careful." Yusei said. "After all we don't know what could be waiting for us at the top."

"You have a point Yusei, well I'll see you guys later." Minato said.

"Oh yeah, Mitsuru-sempai wanted to talk with you didn't she." Junpei said.

"Yeah, I should go see what she wants." Minato said walking out of the room.

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"Arisato, I'm glad you decided to meet me." Mitsuru said calmly.

"We have a lot to talk about and putting it off won't help us at all." Minato said calmly.

"I agree, which is why first I wanted to apologize again for what happened ten years ago." Mitsuru said.

"It wasn't your fault, no one should be blamed for what their parents did." Minato said. "Still, that's not the only reason you wanted to see me, so what are you thinking?"

"Last night, what we learned in the velvet room, I've been thinking about what they said." Mitsuru said.

"You mean about my power, and how it's strengthened by the bonds I form?" Minato asked calmly.

"Partially, but there was more to it than that." Mitsuru said. "They mentioned your bond with Yukari was of the same arcana as her own persona. Which means it's possible that the bond could work both ways."

"Wait, you mean Yukari could get stronger because of our bond?" Minato asked. "If only it was that simple."

"True, things are never easy are they." Mitsuru said with a small chuckle. "Well either way I have a feeling things are far from over, and I don't just mean Tarturus."

"I agree, we're all counting on you Mitsuru-sempai." Minato said.

"The feeling is mutual Arisato." Mitsuru said calmly.

_Thou hast formed a new bond, its power shall help guide you to your destiny, we bestow upon you a blessing when creating personas of the Empress arcana._

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"Welcome back you guys, so who's going up today?" Leo asked excitedly.

"Well Leo, I'm thinking it should be me, you, Luna, and Akiza." Yusei said.

"That makes sense, alright in that case when the dark hour begins we'll head up immediately." Mitsuru said calmly.

"Wait a second, what happens if we find another barrier?" Crow asked. "I mean if this part of Tarturus is anything like the last one we'll get to the barrier way before anything interesting happens."

"That's true, but there is one thing we can do if that happens." Minato said calmly. "We can fight the shadows in Tarturus and get stronger for the higher floors."

"Exactly, you can never get to much training." Akihiko said confidently.

"He's right, so what are we waiting for?" Jack asked. "It's almost time after all, let's head over there."

"After you Jack." Crow said with a smirk.

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"What in the world, so this is what Carly experienced last night." Roman said in shock. "Still that explains everything, to think that such a phenomenon could have been occurring every night, it's remarkable."

"_Roman, there is a cursed power in the air, my strength is almost completely gone." Uru said coldly. "What manner of trick is this?"_

"This is no trick. I don't know exactly what's going on, but somehow the Crimson Dragon is able to harness the power that exists in this time." Roman said. "Perhaps my old connection can be of some use after all, it's time to pay Sayer a visit."

With those words Roman started walking towards Strega's base.

(SEES is preparing to climb to the next teleporter, Roman has entered the dark hour, and Akiza gave away her Black Rose Dragon. Next chapter Strega will make its first move. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)


	36. Chapter 36

"_Just what are you planning?" Jin asked._

"_What do you mean, I assure you that nothing I've done will in any way hinder our group." Sayer said calmly. "In fact I can guarantee that our objectives will be much simpler soon."_

"_How can you be so confident, we're up against people with the same powers as us." Jin said. "Unless you know how to stop them from summoning their personas."_

"_Just trust me." Sayer said calmly. "You won't be disappointed."_

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"Are you alright Akiza?" Luna asked. "You look nervous."

"I'm alright, we just need to keep our eyes open for the shadows." Akiza said quickly.

"Alright if you say so." Yusei said just before a group of shadows appeared. "Speaking of shadows, Stardust Dragon."

"Don't underestimate me." Leo said. "Power Tool Dragon."

Just as the two dragons appeared, one of the shadows managed to attack Akiza.

Just after the attack hit, the Stardust Dragon destroyed the shadow.

"Are you alright Akiza?" Luna asked nervously.

"I'm fine, come forth Phoenixian Cluster Amryllis." Akiza said. "Destroy them all."

The moment she said that, her monster unleashed a storm of explosive flower petals destroying all of the shadows nearby.

"Nice one Akiza." Leo said. "Let's keep going."

"He's right, let's keep moving." Yusei said. What's going on Akiza, your dragon wasn't in your deck, he thought suspiciously.

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"So this is the source of your new power Sayer, I must admit it's quite impressive." Roman said calmly.

"Wait, how is this possible?" Sayer asked in surprise. "The dark signers shouldn't be able to move during this time."

"You would normally be correct, however time works differently in the Netherworld." Roman said. "Now it's time you explain what's going on."

"Allow me to explain, you recall the power that we demonstrated to you before?" Takaya asked calmly.

"That's one thing that I don't intend to forget anytime soon." Roman said just as his mark began to glow. "What in the world?"

"It seems that you're powers are resonating with the dark hour, although I'm not sure why." Takaya said calmly. "Of course it may be related to this, Hypnos."

The moment he said that, Takaya clutched his head in pain and a human-like creature with wings growing out of veins on it's back.

"What kind of monstrosity is that?" Roman asked nervously.

"This is my persona, an extension of my own will." Takaya said as Hypnos slowly disappeared.

"An extension of your will, if the signers have the same power they are a threat to both of us." Roman said. "Perhaps we should consider cooperating."

"What do you have in mind?" Takaya asked calmly.

"Patience, I need to inform the other dark signers about this, we can discuss our plans at another time." Roman said calmly. "Still I'm very impressed."

"We have a slight problem, Chidori is missing." Jin said suddenly.

"Don't worry, I have something in mind." Takaya said. "Bring your dark signers tomorrow. Jin it's time we return to the Tower of Demise."

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"_Chidori, I understand your confusion but shouldn't you talk with them?" Marie asked._

"I don't know, they've done everything to help me but something just feels wrong." Chidori said quietly.

"_You don't need to do anything you don't want. Just know that we both support you no matter what." Medea said._

"Right, thanks you two." Chidori said quietly. "I just need some time to think."

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"_Careful, I detect a powerful shadow just above you." Mitsuru said quickly._

"Right, that means the teleporter is on that floor." Yusei said. "Are you guys alright?"

"Yeah, let's take this one down and head back." Leo said enthusiastically.

"In that case let's go." Akiza said.

The moment she said that, Leo and Luna started up the stairs.

"Akiza wait a second, why don't you have your Black Rose Dragon?" Yusei asked.

"I can't use it Yusei." Akiza said. "My powers and other cards will be enough."

"Akiza, what's going on?" Yusei asked. "Something's bothering you so just tell me what it is."

"We need to help Leo and Luna, I'll tell you on the way back Yusei." Akiza said.

"Alright, but be careful Akiza." Yusei said.

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"Where have you been?" Jin asked.

"It's fine, now then Chidori are you feeling any better after gathering your thoughts?" Takaya asked calmly.

"I'll be fine, now are we going somewhere?" Chidori asked calmly.

"We're going to the Tower of Demise, I do not trust Roman Goodwin however he may prove useful to our goals." Takaya said calmly.

"You mean that mark, I've already looked into it and there's something strange about it." Jin said. "I need to double check but I'm almost sure I've seen it before."

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"Power Tool Dragon, take down that shadow." Leo said just before his dragon crashed into the shadow and managed to knock it down.

"Leave the rest to me." Yusei said as his mark started to glow. "Stardust Dragon, Cosmic Flare."

With those words, Yusei's dragon unleashed another beam of energy vaporized the shadows.

"_Excellent work Fudo, you should head back." Mitsuru said calmly._

"Right, let's get going." Yusei said calmly.

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"Wait, what are you guys doing here?" Jack asked.

"We have just as much right to be in this tower as you do." Takaya said calmly. "We have no intention of getting in your way."

"That may be true, but why would you be interested in Tarturus?" Akihiko asked. "Unless you somehow know what's waiting at the top."

"No we don't know what's waiting at the top of this tower, however I can assure you that it's something we should not interfere with." Takaya said calmly just as the other four members of SEES arrived.

"What the, why are you here?" Leo asked.

"As I was explaining to your friend, we have just as much right to be here as you do." Takaya said. "However I do have one question for you, that mark on your arm, what exactly is it?"

"Just think of it as a connection between the six of us." Crow said quickly.

"Very well, I do hope our next meeting will be more beneficial to us all." Takaya said calmly before walking out of Tarturus with Jin.

"Luna right?" Chidori asked calmly.

"Is something wrong?" Luna asked.

"I'd like to talk with you tomorrow, about that." Chidori said.

"Alright, just stop by anytime." Luna said with a smile.

"Thank you." Chidori said leaving Tarturus.

"Alright, we should head back ourselves." Mitsuru said calmly.

"Right, let's go." Yusei said.

(Roman is preparing to begin cooperating with Strega, but neither group completely trusts the other, and SEES has reached the next teleporter. Next chapter Akiza will reveal why she gave away her dragon, and Chidori and Luna will return to the Spirit World. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)


End file.
